figéesvsfixéesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,530
“figées” frequency rank
#12,572
“fixées” frequency rank
61102
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature figées fixées
Definition Féminin pluriel de figé. Féminin pluriel de fixé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set figées and fixées apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
figées
6 ch
fixées

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. figées (\fi.ʒe\) and fixées (\fik.se\) 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 a single letter - g in “figées” becomes x in “fixées”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61102, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

figées is recorded at frequency rank #48,530, classified as anadj, pronounced \fi.ʒe\. fixées is at rank #12,572, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fik.se\.

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 61102, this pair ranks #94,061 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of figées vs fixées

Shared letters: efisé. Private to "figées": g. Private to "fixées": x.

"figées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "fixées" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC

Frequency comparison

figées#48,530
fixées#12,572

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "figées" and "fixées" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fi.ʒe\ versus \fik.se\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "figées" or "fixées"?
"fixées" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,572 in our French list, against #48,530 for "figées". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering figées vs fixées

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 “figées” 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