Which to use
“files” and “fire” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,220
- “files” frequency rank
- #10,874
- “fire” frequency rank
- 22094
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | files | fire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de file. | Feu (le phénomène en général). |
Where the eye mixes files and fire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: files vs fire
A purely visual mix-up. files (\fil\) and fire (\ˈfaɪ.ɚ\) 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 22094, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
files is recorded at frequency rank #11,220, classified as anoun, pronounced \fil\. fire is at rank #10,874, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈfaɪ.ɚ\.
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 22094, this pair ranks #359,834 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of files vs fire
Shared letters: efi. Private to "files": ls. Private to "fire": r.
"files" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "fire" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "files" for "fire" ever safe?
Which is more common, "files" or "fire"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "files" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #359,834 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "files" and "fire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "files 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 #359,834 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.