Which to use
“fic” and “file” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,762
- “fic” frequency rank
- #3,678
- “file” frequency rank
- 50440
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fic | file |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Verrue à pédoncule étroit ressemblant à une figue. | Suite ou rangée de choses ou de personnes disposées en long et l’une derrière l’autre. |
Where the eye mixes fic and file
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fic runs 3 letters (CVC) against file's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fic with file
A purely visual mix-up. fic (\fik\) and file (\fil\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50440, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fic is recorded at frequency rank #46,762, classified as anoun, pronounced \fik\. file is at rank #3,678, 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 50440, this pair ranks #162,624 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fic vs file
Shared letters: fi. Private to "fic": c. Private to "file": el.
"fic" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "file" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- file ← ffile · flie · ifle
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fic" and "file" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fic" vs "file" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "file" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #162,624 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fic" and "file" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fic". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #162,624 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.