Which to use
“flics” and “foins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,847
- “flics” frequency rank
- #48,534
- “foins” frequency rank
- 52381
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | flics | foins |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de flic. | Pluriel de foin. |
Where the eye mixes flics and foins
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. flics (CCVCC) and foins (CVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses flics with foins
A purely visual mix-up. flics (\flik\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
flics is recorded at frequency rank #3,847, classified as anoun, pronounced \flik\. 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 52381, this pair ranks #148,120 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of flics vs foins
Shared letters: fis. Private to "flics": cl. Private to "foins": no.
"flics" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "foins" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "flics" and "foins" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "flics" vs "foins" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "flics" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "foins" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #148,120 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "flics" and "foins" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foies vs foins". 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 #148,120 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.