Which to use
“fermée” and “féroce” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,758
- “fermée” frequency rank
- #13,176
- “féroce” frequency rank
- 17934
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fermée | féroce |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de fermé. | Qui est cruel par instinct, en parlant des bêtes. |
Where the eye mixes fermée and féroce
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fermée and féroce
A purely visual mix-up. fermée (\fɛʁ.me\) and féroce (\fe.ʁɔs\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17934, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fermée is recorded at frequency rank #4,758, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɛʁ.me\. féroce is at rank #13,176, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fe.ʁɔs\.
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 17934, this pair ranks #380,746 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fermée vs féroce
Shared letters: efré. Private to "fermée": m. Private to "féroce": co.
"fermée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "féroce" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fermée" for "féroce" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "fermée" or "féroce" show up more?
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 "fermée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "féroce" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #380,746 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fermée" and "féroce" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "féroce vs fronce". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #380,746 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.