Which to use
“fey” and “fil” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,760
- “fey” frequency rank
- #1,263
- “fil” frequency rank
- 48023
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fey | fil |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cône. | Petite partie longue et déliée qu’on détache de l’écorce du chanvre, du lin, etc. |
Where the eye mixes fey and fil
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fey with fil
A purely visual mix-up. fey (\fɛj\) and fil (\fil\) 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 48023, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fey is recorded at frequency rank #46,760, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɛj\. fil is at rank #1,263, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fil\.
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 48023, this pair ranks #182,264 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fey vs fil
Shared letters: f. Private to "fey": ey. Private to "fil": il.
"fey" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fil" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fey" for "fil" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fey" vs "fil" - which ranks higher?
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 "fey" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fil" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #182,264 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fey" and "fil" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fey". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #182,264 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.