figuesvsfugueWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#28,559
“figues” frequency rank
#22,869
“fugue” frequency rank
51428
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature figues fugue
Definition Pluriel de figue. Fuite.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
figues
5 ch
fugue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. figues (\fiɡ\) and fugue (\fyɡ\) 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 51428, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

figues is recorded at frequency rank #28,559, classified as anoun, pronounced \fiɡ\. fugue is at rank #22,869, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fyɡ\.

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 51428, this pair ranks #155,072 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of figues vs fugue

Shared letters: efgu. Private to "figues": is. Private to "fugue": -.

"figues" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "fugue" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • figuesffigues · fgiues · figeus · figgues · figuess · figuse · fiuges · ifgues
  • fugueffugue · fguue · fugeu · fuggue · fuuge · ufgue

Frequency comparison

figues#28,559
fugue#22,869

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "figues" and "fugue" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fiɡ\ versus \fyɡ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "figues" or "fugue"?
"fugue" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,869 in our French list, against #28,559 for "figues". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering figues vs fugue

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 “figues” 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