ficvsfraConfusable pair

Which to use

“fic” and “fra” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#46,762
“fic” frequency rank
#14,045
“fra” frequency rank
60807
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fic fra
Definition Verrue à pédoncule étroit ressemblant à une figue. Frère.

Letter map: fic vs fra

Shared letters muted; letters that set fic and fra apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

3 ch
fic
3 ch
fra

Corpus notes: fic and fra

fic and fra are indexed as a confusable French pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60807, 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\. fra is at rank #14,045, tagged as anoun.

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 60807, this pair ranks #95,662 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fic vs fra

Shared letters: f. Private to "fic": ci. Private to "fra": ar.

"fic" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fra" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "fic" for "fra" ever safe?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Frequency check: "fic" vs "fra" - which ranks higher?
"fra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,045 in our French list, against #46,762 for "fic". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "fic" and "fra".

  • Full dictionary entry for "fic" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #95,662 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fic" and "fra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fic". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #95,662 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list