Which to use
“figue” and “fiole” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,844
- “figue” frequency rank
- #33,686
- “fiole” frequency rank
- 70530
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | figue | fiole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Faux-fruit comestible du figuier, issu de l’inflorescence contenant des akènes qui sont les fruits proprement dits, contenus dans une pulpe molle et sucrée. | Petit flacon ou petite bouteille de verre à col étroit. |
Where the eye mixes figue and fiole
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. figue (CVCVV) and fiole (CVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: figue vs fiole
A purely visual mix-up. figue (\fiɡ\) and fiole (\fjɔl\) 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 70530, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
figue is recorded at frequency rank #36,844, classified as anoun, pronounced \fiɡ\. fiole is at rank #33,686, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fjɔl\.
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 70530, this pair ranks #50,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of figue vs fiole
Shared letters: efi. Private to "figue": gu. Private to "fiole": lo.
"figue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "fiole" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "figue" and "fiole" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "figue" vs "fiole" - 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 "figue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fiole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #50,979 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "figue" and "fiole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "figées vs figue". 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 #50,979 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.