Which to use
“fichait” and “filait” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,085
- “fichait” frequency rank
- #36,391
- “filait” frequency rank
- 85476
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fichait | filait |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de ficher. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de filer. |
Where the eye mixes fichait and filait
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fichait runs 7 letters (CVCCVVC) against filait's 6 (CVCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses fichait with filait
A purely visual mix-up. fichait (\fi.ʃɛ\) and filait (\fi.lɛ\) 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 85476, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fichait is recorded at frequency rank #49,085, classified as averb, pronounced \fi.ʃɛ\. filait is at rank #36,391, tagged as averb, pronounced \fi.lɛ\.
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 85476, this pair ranks #11,316 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of fichait vs filait
Shared letters: afit. Private to "fichait": ch. Private to "filait": l.
"fichait" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC · "filait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fichait" for "filait" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fichait" vs "filait" - 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 "fichait" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "filait" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #11,316 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fichait" and "filait" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fichait vs filmait". 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 #11,316 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.