feuxvsfeyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“feux” and “fey” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,756
“feux” frequency rank
#46,760
“fey” frequency rank
50516
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature feux fey
Definition Feux tricolores. Cône.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set feux and fey apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
feux
3 ch
fey

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. feux (\fø\) and fey (\fɛj\) 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 50516, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

feux is recorded at frequency rank #3,756, classified as anoun, pronounced \fø\. fey is at rank #46,760, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɛj\.

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 50516, this pair ranks #162,056 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of feux vs fey

Shared letters: ef. Private to "feux": ux. Private to "fey": y.

"feux" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "fey" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • feuxefux · feuxx · fexu · ffeux · fuex

Frequency comparison

feux#3,756
fey#46,760

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "feux" and "fey" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fø\ versus \fɛj\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "feux" or "fey"?
"feux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,756 in our French list, against #46,760 for "fey". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering feux vs fey

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “feux” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list