Which to use
“fermait” and “filmait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,960
- “fermait” frequency rank
- #46,171
- “filmait” frequency rank
- 78131
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fermait | filmait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de fermer. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de filmer. |
Where the eye mixes fermait and filmait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fermait and filmait follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses fermait with filmait
A purely visual mix-up. fermait (\fɛʁ.mɛ\) and filmait (\fil.mɛ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fermait is recorded at frequency rank #31,960, classified as averb, pronounced \fɛʁ.mɛ\. filmait is at rank #46,171, tagged as averb, pronounced \fil.mɛ\.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 78131, this pair ranks #26,545 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fermait vs filmait
Shared letters: afimt. Private to "fermait": er. Private to "filmait": l.
"fermait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "filmait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fermait" for "filmait" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fermait" vs "filmait" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fermait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "filmait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #26,545 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fermait" and "filmait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fichait vs filmait". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #26,545 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.