Which to use
“files” and “frises” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,220
- “files” frequency rank
- #46,777
- “frises” frequency rank
- 57997
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | files | frises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de file. | Pluriel de frise. |
Where the eye mixes files and frises
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. files runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against frises's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses files with frises
A purely visual mix-up. files (\fil\) and frises (\fʁiz\) 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 57997, 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\. frises is at rank #46,777, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fʁiz\.
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 57997, this pair ranks #111,655 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of files vs frises
Shared letters: efis. Private to "files": l. Private to "frises": r.
"files" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "frises" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "files" and "frises" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "files" vs "frises" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "files" and "frises" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "files" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frises" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #111,655 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "files" and "frises" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foies vs frises". 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 #111,655 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.