Which to use
“fils” and “foins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #337
- “fils” frequency rank
- #48,534
- “foins” frequency rank
- 48871
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fils | foins |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tout être humain de genre masculin considéré par rapport à son père et à sa mère, ou à un des deux seulement. | Pluriel de foin. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fils and foins apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. fils (\fis\) and foins (\fwɛ̃\) 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 48871, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fils is recorded at frequency rank #337, classified as anoun, pronounced \fis\. foins is at rank #48,534, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fwɛ̃\.
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 48871, this pair ranks #175,374 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fils vs foins
Shared letters: fis. Private to "fils": l. Private to "foins": no.
"fils" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "foins" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fils" and "foins" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fils" or "foins"?
Remembering fils vs foins
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fils” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable