Which to use
“fesse” and “fusée” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,625
- “fesse” frequency rank
- #9,665
- “fusée” frequency rank
- 31290
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fesse | fusée |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chacune des deux masses charnues situées à la partie postérieure du bassin, chez l’être humain et certains mammifères. | Quantité de fil qui est contenu sur un fuseau, quand la filasse est filée. |
Where the eye mixes fesse and fusée
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fesse (CVCCV) and fusée (CVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses fesse with fusée
A purely visual mix-up. fesse (\fɛs\) and fusée (\fy.ze\) 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 31290, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fesse is recorded at frequency rank #21,625, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɛs\. fusée is at rank #9,665, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fy.ze\.
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 31290, this pair ranks #304,719 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fesse vs fusée
Shared letters: efs. Private to "fesse": -. Private to "fusée": ué.
"fesse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "fusée" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fesse ← efsse · fese · ffesse · fsese
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fesse" for "fusée" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fesse" vs "fusée" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fesse" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fusée" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #304,719 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fesse" and "fusée" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fesse". 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 #304,719 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.