fichevsFuchsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,917
“fiche” frequency rank
#41,300
“Fuchs” frequency rank
43217
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fiche Fuchs
Definition Action de ficher, d’enfoncer ; quantité dont on enfonce dans le sol un pieu de fondation. Renard (animal).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fiche and Fuchs apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fiche
5 ch
Fuchs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fiche (\fiʃ\) and Fuchs (\fʊks\) 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 43217, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fiche is recorded at frequency rank #1,917, classified as anoun, pronounced \fiʃ\. Fuchs is at rank #41,300, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fʊks\.

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 43217, this pair ranks #219,771 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fiche vs Fuchs

Shared letters: cfh. Private to "fiche": ei. Private to "Fuchs": su.

"fiche" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "Fuchs" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fichefcihe · ffiche · ficche · ficeh · fichhe · fihce · ifche
  • Fuchsfcuhs · ffuchs · fucchs · fuchhs · fuchss · fucsh · fuhcs · ufchs

Frequency comparison

fiche#1,917
Fuchs#41,300

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fiche" and "Fuchs" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fiʃ\ versus \fʊks\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fiche" or "Fuchs"?
"fiche" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,917 in our French list, against #41,300 for "Fuchs". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering fiche vs Fuchs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fiche” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list