Which to use
“fist” is a verb and “fix” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #26,368
- “fist” frequency rank
- #23,870
- “fix” frequency rank
- 50238
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fist | fix |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Deuxième personne du singulier de l’impératif présent de fisten. | Dose de drogue, généralement injectée par intraveineuse. |
Where the eye mixes fist and fix
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fist and fix
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fist is \fɪst\ while fix is \fiks\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50238, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fist is recorded at frequency rank #26,368, classified as averb, pronounced \fɪst\. fix is at rank #23,870, tagged as anoun, 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 50238, this pair ranks #164,207 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fist vs fix
Shared letters: fi. Private to "fist": st. Private to "fix": x.
"fist" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "fix" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fist ← ffist · fisst · fistt · fits · fsit · ifst
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fist" and "fix" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "fist" or "fix"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fist" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fix" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #164,207 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fist" and "fix" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fist 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 #164,207 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.