Which to use
“fiefs” and “field” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,016
- “fiefs” frequency rank
- #17,136
- “field” frequency rank
- 38152
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fiefs | field |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de fief. | Champ (terre). |
Where the eye mixes fiefs and field
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fiefs and field
A purely visual mix-up. fiefs (\fjɛf\) and field (\fiːld\) 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 38152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fiefs is recorded at frequency rank #21,016, classified as anoun, pronounced \fjɛf\. field is at rank #17,136, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fiːld\.
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 38152, this pair ranks #257,297 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fiefs vs field
Shared letters: efi. Private to "fiefs": s. Private to "field": dl.
"fiefs" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "field" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fiefs" for "field" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fiefs" vs "field" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fiefs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "field" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,297 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fiefs" and "field" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fiefs vs figées". 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 #257,297 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.