Which to use
“fez” and “fic” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,037
- “fez” frequency rank
- #46,762
- “fic” frequency rank
- 81799
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fez | fic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Couvre-chef de laine rouge ou blanche, qui a remplacé le turban dans de nombreuses communautés musulmanes. | Verrue à pédoncule étroit ressemblant à une figue. |
Where the eye mixes fez and fic
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. fez and fic follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between fez and fic
A purely visual mix-up. fez (\fɛz\) and fic (\fik\) 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 81799, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fez is recorded at frequency rank #35,037, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɛz\. fic is at rank #46,762, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fik\.
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 81799, this pair ranks #18,018 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fez vs fic
Shared letters: f. Private to "fez": ez. Private to "fic": ci.
"fez" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fic" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fez" for "fic" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fez" vs "fic" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fez" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fic" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #18,018 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fez" and "fic" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fic". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #18,018 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.