Which to use
“fève” and “fine” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,822
- “fève” frequency rank
- #3,919
- “fine” frequency rank
- 41741
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fève | fine |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Terme utilisé communément dans l’imprimerie et par les typographes pour désigner une espace insécable, mais d'une largeur fixe non justifiable (en cas de justification des lignes complètes de paragraphes entre les deux marges), et plus fine (entre un sixième et un quart de cadratin, selon les polices de caractères utilisées) que l’espace normale (un demi cadratin) séparant les mots ; la fine est utilisée soit en juxtaposition avec certains signes de ponctuation, soit aussi (dans les conventions typographiques françaises) comme séparateur de groupes de chiffres dans un nombre ou un numéro. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fève and fine apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. fève (\fɛv\) and fine (\fin\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41741, 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\. fine is at rank #3,919, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fin\.
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 41741, this pair ranks #230,830 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fève vs fine
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fève": vè. Private to "fine": in.
"fève" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "fine" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- fine ← ffine · fien · finne · fnie · ifne
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fève" and "fine" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fève" or "fine"?
Remembering fève vs fine
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