fêtonsvsfonsConfusable pair

Quick tell: fêtons is a verb, fons is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fêtons” is a verb and “fons” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,356
“fêtons” frequency rank
#43,445
“fons” frequency rank
85801
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fêtons fons
Definition Première personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de fêter. Fonds (patrimoine).

Letter map: fêtons vs fons

Shared letters muted; letters that set fêtons and fons apart highlighted. Shared run: 4. fêtons runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against fons's 4 (CVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
fêtons
4 ch
fons

Role in the sentence - fêtons and fons

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fêtons is averb and fonsanoun. On the page they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fêtons is recorded at frequency rank #42,356, classified as averb, pronounced \fe.tɔ̃\. fons is at rank #43,445, tagged as anoun.

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 85801, this pair ranks #10,729 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fêtons vs fons

Shared letters: fnos. Private to "fêtons": tê. Private to "fons": -.

"fêtons" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "fons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fons ← ffons · fnos · fonns · fonss · fosn · ofns

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fêtons" for "fons" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fêtons" is a verb and "fons" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fêtons" or "fons"?
"fêtons" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,356 in our French list, against #43,445 for "fons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "fêtons" and "fons".

  • Full dictionary entry for "fêtons" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fons" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #10,729 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fêtons" and "fons" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foins vs fons". 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 #10,729 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list