fèvevsfezWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#37,822
“fève” frequency rank
#35,037
“fez” frequency rank
72859
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fève fez
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. Couvre-chef de laine rouge ou blanche, qui a remplacé le turban dans de nombreuses communautés musulmanes.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
fève
3 ch
fez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fève (\fɛv\) and fez (\fɛz\) 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 72859, 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\. fez is at rank #35,037, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɛz\.

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 72859, this pair ranks #42,522 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fève vs fez

Shared letters: ef. Private to "fève": . Private to "fez": z.

"fève" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "fez" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

fève#37,822
fez#35,037

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fève" and "fez" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fɛv\ versus \fɛz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fève" or "fez"?
"fez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,037 in our French list, against #37,822 for "fève". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fève vs fez

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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list