Which to use
“file” and “filou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,678
- “file” frequency rank
- #43,438
- “filou” frequency rank
- 47116
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | file | filou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Suite ou rangée de choses ou de personnes disposées en long et l’une derrière l’autre. | (Louisiane) Voleur agissant par ruse, tricheur au jeu, personne qui abuse de la confiance. |
Where the eye mixes file and filou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. file runs 4 letters (CVCV) against filou's 5 (CVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between file and filou
A purely visual mix-up. file (\fil\) and filou (\fi.lu\) 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 47116, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
file is recorded at frequency rank #3,678, classified as anoun, pronounced \fil\. filou is at rank #43,438, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fi.lu\.
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 47116, this pair ranks #189,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of file vs filou
Shared letters: fil. Private to "file": e. Private to "filou": ou.
"file" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "filou" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "file" and "filou" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "file" or "filou"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "file" and "filou" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "file" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "filou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #189,465 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "file" and "filou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filez vs filou". 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 #189,465 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.