Which to use
“fidèle” is an adjective and “file” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,138
- “fidèle” frequency rank
- #3,678
- “file” frequency rank
- 6816
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fidèle | file |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui garde sa foi, à l’égard d’une personne ou d’une idée, qui est constant dans les affections, qui remplit ses devoirs, ses engagements. | Suite ou rangée de choses ou de personnes disposées en long et l’une derrière l’autre. |
Where the eye mixes fidèle and file
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. fidèle runs 6 letters (CVCVCV) against file's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: fidèle vs file
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fidèle is \fi.dɛl\ while file is \fil\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6816, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fidèle is recorded at frequency rank #3,138, classified as anadj, pronounced \fi.dɛl\. 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 6816, this pair ranks #425,132 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fidèle vs file
Shared letters: efil. Private to "fidèle": dè. Private to "file": -.
"fidèle" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "file" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- file ← ffile · flie · ifle
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fidèle" and "file" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "fidèle" vs "file" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fidèle" 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 #425,132 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fidèle" and "file" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "file vs filez". 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 #425,132 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.