Which to use
“filent” is a verb and “filon” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,030
- “filent” frequency rank
- #24,975
- “filon” frequency rank
- 56005
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filent | filon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Troisième personne du pluriel du présent de l’indicatif de filer. | Gisement étendu d’une matière, de forme allongée, permettant son identification. |
Where the eye mixes filent and filon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. filent runs 6 letters (CVCVCC) against filon's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses filent with filon
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: filent is \fil\ while filon is \fi.lɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56005, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
filent is recorded at frequency rank #31,030, classified as averb, pronounced \fil\. filon is at rank #24,975, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fi.lɔ̃\.
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 56005, this pair ranks #123,820 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of filent vs filon
Shared letters: filn. Private to "filent": et. Private to "filon": o.
"filent" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "filon" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "filent" for "filon" ever safe?
Frequency check: "filent" vs "filon" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "filent" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "filon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #123,820 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filent" and "filon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "filent vs filez". 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 #123,820 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.