fèvevsfeyWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,822
“fève” frequency rank
#46,760
“fey” frequency rank
84582
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fève fey
Definition 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. Cône.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
fève
3 ch
fey

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fève (\fɛv\) 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 84582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fève is recorded at frequency rank #37,822, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɛv\. 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 84582, this pair ranks #12,719 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fève vs fey

Shared letters: ef. Private to "fève": . Private to "fey": y.

"fève" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "fey" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

fève#37,822
fey#46,760

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fève" and "fey" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fɛv\ versus \fɛj\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fève" or "fey"?
"fève" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,822 in our French list, against #46,760 for "fey". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fève 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 “fève” 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