Which to use
“filets” and “fouets” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,483
- “filets” frequency rank
- #49,094
- “fouets” frequency rank
- 58577
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filets | fouets |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de filet. | Pluriel de fouet. |
Where the eye mixes filets and fouets
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between filets and fouets
A purely visual mix-up. filets (\fi.lɛ\) and fouets (\fwɛ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58577, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
filets is recorded at frequency rank #9,483, classified as anoun, pronounced \fi.lɛ\. fouets is at rank #49,094, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fwɛ\.
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 58577, this pair ranks #108,249 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of filets vs fouets
Shared letters: efst. Private to "filets": il. Private to "fouets": ou.
"filets" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC · "fouets" · 6 letters · shape CVVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "filets" and "fouets" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "filets" or "fouets"?
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 "filets" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fouets" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #108,249 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filets" and "fouets" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foies vs fouets". 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 #108,249 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.