figevsfigerWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#38,806
“fige” frequency rank
#39,801
“figer” frequency rank
78607
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fige figer
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de figer. Congeler, coaguler, condenser par le froid, par le refroidissement. Il se dit surtout en parlant des huiles.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fige and figer apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
fige
5 ch
figer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fige (\fiʒ\) and figer (\fi.ʒe\) 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 extra letter(s) - “fige” sits inside “figer”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78607, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fige is recorded at frequency rank #38,806, classified as averb, pronounced \fiʒ\. figer is at rank #39,801, tagged as averb, pronounced \fi.ʒe\.

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 78607, this pair ranks #25,308 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fige vs figer

Shared letters: efgi. Private to "fige": -. Private to "figer": r.

"fige" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "figer" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • figeffige · fgie · fieg · figge · ifge
  • figerffiger · fgier · fiegr · figerr · figger · figre · ifger

Frequency comparison

fige#38,806
figer#39,801

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fige" and "figer" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fiʒ\ versus \fi.ʒe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fige" or "figer"?
"fige" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #38,806 in our French list, against #39,801 for "figer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fige vs figer

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 “fige” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list