finsvsfixeTell them apart

Which to use

“fins” and “fixe” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#3,196
“fins” frequency rank
#2,615
“fixe” frequency rank
5811
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fins fixe
Definition Masculin pluriel de fin. Immobile.

Where the eye mixes fins and fixe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

4 ch
fins
4 ch
fixe

Look-alike desk: fins vs fixe

A purely visual mix-up. fins (\fɛ̃\) and fixe (\fiks\) 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 5811, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fins is recorded at frequency rank #3,196, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɛ̃\. fixe is at rank #2,615, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fiks\.

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 5811, this pair ranks #428,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fins vs fixe

Shared letters: fi. Private to "fins": ns. Private to "fixe": ex.

"fins" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "fixe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • finsffins · finns · finss · fisn · fnis · ifns
  • fixeffixe · fiex · fixxe · fxie · ifxe

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fins" and "fixe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fɛ̃\ versus \fiks\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "fins" vs "fixe" - which ranks higher?
"fixe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,615 in our French list, against #3,196 for "fins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "fins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "fixe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #428,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "fins" and "fixe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fins vs FIV". 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 #428,009 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list