Which to use
“fève” and “fièvre” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,822
- “fève” frequency rank
- #5,248
- “fièvre” frequency rank
- 43070
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fève | fièvre |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | État d'un animal (y compris un être humain) dont la température corporelle dépasse sa valeur normale. |
Where the eye mixes fève and fièvre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fève runs 4 letters (CVCV) against fièvre's 6 (CVVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fève with fièvre
A purely visual mix-up. fève (\fɛv\) and fièvre (\fjɛvʁ\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43070, 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\. fièvre is at rank #5,248, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fjɛvʁ\.
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 43070, this pair ranks #220,852 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fève vs fièvre
Shared letters: efvè. Private to "fève": -. Private to "fièvre": ir.
"fève" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fièvre" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fève" and "fièvre" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "fève" or "fièvre" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "fève" and "fièvre" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fève" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fièvre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,852 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fève" and "fièvre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fève". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #220,852 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.