Which to use
“fiefs” and “filets” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,016
- “fiefs” frequency rank
- #9,483
- “filets” frequency rank
- 30499
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fiefs | filets |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de fief. | Pluriel de filet. |
Where the eye mixes fiefs and filets
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fiefs with filets
A purely visual mix-up. fiefs (\fjɛf\) and filets (\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 30499, 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\. filets is at rank #9,483, tagged as anoun, 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 30499, this pair ranks #309,920 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fiefs vs filets
Shared letters: efis. Private to "fiefs": -. Private to "filets": lt.
"fiefs" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "filets" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fiefs" and "filets" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "fiefs" vs "filets" - 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 "fiefs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "filets" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #309,920 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fiefs" and "filets" 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 #309,920 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.