filaitvsfixantWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: filait is a verb, fixant is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“filait” is a verb and “fixant” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#36,391
“filait” frequency rank
#14,937
“fixant” frequency rank
51328
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature filait fixant
Definition Troisième personne du singulier de l’imparfait de l’indicatif de filer. Qui a la propriété de fixer (terme souvent utilisé pour les produits cosmétiques et capillaires).

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
filait
6 ch
fixant

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: filait is \fi.lɛ\ while fixant is \fik.sɑ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51328, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

filait is recorded at frequency rank #36,391, classified as averb, pronounced \fi.lɛ\. fixant is at rank #14,937, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fik.sɑ̃\.

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 51328, this pair ranks #155,871 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of filait vs fixant

Shared letters: afit. Private to "filait": l. Private to "fixant": nx.

"filait" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "fixant" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • filaitffilait · fialit · filaitt · filati · filiat · fillait · fliait · iflait
  • fixantffixant · fiaxnt · fixannt · fixantt · fixatn · fixnat · fixxant · fxiant

Frequency comparison

filait#36,391
fixant#14,937

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "filait" and "fixant" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "filait" is a verb and "fixant" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "filait" or "fixant"?
"fixant" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,937 in our French list, against #36,391 for "filait". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering filait vs fixant

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “filait”; for an adjective, it's “fixant”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “filait” 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