Which to use
“fèves” is a noun and “fières” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,017
- “fèves” frequency rank
- #33,689
- “fières” frequency rank
- 59706
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fèves | fières |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de fève. | Féminin pluriel de fier. |
Where the eye mixes fèves and fières
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fèves runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against fières's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fèves vs fières
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fèves is \fɛv\ while fières is \fjɛʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59706, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fèves is recorded at frequency rank #26,017, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɛv\. fières is at rank #33,689, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fjɛʁ\.
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 59706, this pair ranks #101,634 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fèves vs fières
Shared letters: efsè. Private to "fèves": v. Private to "fières": ir.
"fèves" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fières" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fèves" for "fières" ever safe?
Which is more common, "fèves" or "fières"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fèves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fières" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #101,634 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fèves" and "fières" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fières vs figées". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #101,634 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.