Which to use
“fesses” and “frises” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,489
- “fesses” frequency rank
- #46,777
- “frises” frequency rank
- 51266
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fesses | frises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de fesse. | Pluriel de frise. |
Where the eye mixes fesses and frises
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fesses (CVCCVC) and frises (CCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between fesses and frises
A purely visual mix-up. fesses (\fɛs\) and frises (\fʁiz\) 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 51266, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fesses is recorded at frequency rank #4,489, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɛs\. frises is at rank #46,777, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fʁiz\.
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 51266, this pair ranks #156,337 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fesses vs frises
Shared letters: efs. Private to "fesses": -. Private to "frises": ir.
"fesses" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "frises" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fesses" and "frises" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "fesses" or "frises"?
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 "fesses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frises" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #156,337 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fesses" and "frises" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foies vs frises". 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 #156,337 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.