Which to use
“fil” and “fox” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,263
- “fil” frequency rank
- #7,832
- “fox” frequency rank
- 9095
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fil | fox |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Petite partie longue et déliée qu’on détache de l’écorce du chanvre, du lin, etc. | Race de chien, abréviation de fox-terrier. |
Where the eye mixes fil and fox
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fil with fox
A purely visual mix-up. fil (\fil\) and fox (\fɔks\) 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 9095, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fil is recorded at frequency rank #1,263, classified as anoun, pronounced \fil\. fox is at rank #7,832, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔks\.
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 9095, this pair ranks #417,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fil vs fox
Shared letters: f. Private to "fil": il. Private to "fox": ox.
"fil" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fox" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fil" and "fox" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "fil" vs "fox" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "fil" and "fox" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "fil" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fox" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #417,811 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fil" and "fox" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fox". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #417,811 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.