Which to use
“fêtes” and “fève” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,929
- “fêtes” frequency rank
- #37,822
- “fève” frequency rank
- 40751
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fêtes | fève |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de fête. | Nom vernaculaire de Vicia faba, plante herbacées annuelle de la famille des Fabacées (Fabaceae, au port érigé, pouvant atteindre 2 mètre de haut et que l’on cultive pour sa graine comestible. |
Where the eye mixes fêtes and fève
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: fêtes vs fève
A purely visual mix-up. fêtes (\fɛt\) and fève (\fɛv\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40751, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fêtes is recorded at frequency rank #2,929, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɛt\. fève is at rank #37,822, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɛv\.
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 40751, this pair ranks #238,174 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fêtes vs fève
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fêtes": stê. Private to "fève": vè.
"fêtes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fève" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fêtes" for "fève" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fêtes" vs "fève" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fêtes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fève" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #238,174 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fêtes" and "fève" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fève". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #238,174 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.