Which to use
“fief” and “free” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,833
- “fief” frequency rank
- #3,537
- “free” frequency rank
- 13370
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fief | free |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Domaine noble dont le détenteur, le vassal, devait l’hommage et ordinairement aussi quelque redevance, quelque service, etc., au seigneur, possesseur du domaine. | Teuf, fête gratuite. |
Where the eye mixes fief and free
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. fief (CVVC) and free (CCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses fief with free
A purely visual mix-up. fief (\fjɛf\) and free (\fʁi\) 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 13370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fief is recorded at frequency rank #9,833, classified as anoun, pronounced \fjɛf\. free is at rank #3,537, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fʁi\.
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 13370, this pair ranks #401,296 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fief vs free
Shared letters: ef. Private to "fief": i. Private to "free": r.
"fief" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "free" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fief" and "free" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fief" vs "free" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fief" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "free" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #401,296 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fief" and "free" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fief 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 #401,296 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.