Which to use
“foin” and “folio” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,388
- “foin” frequency rank
- #19,022
- “folio” frequency rank
- 32410
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foin | folio |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Herbe fauchée et séchée qui sert principalement à la nourriture des chevaux et des bestiaux. | Feuillet, en parlant de registres, de manuscrits, etc., numérotés par feuillets, et non par pages. |
Where the eye mixes foin and folio
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses foin with folio
A purely visual mix-up. foin (\fwɛ̃\) and folio (\fɔ.ljo\) 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 32410, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foin is recorded at frequency rank #13,388, classified as anoun, pronounced \fwɛ̃\. folio is at rank #19,022, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔ.ljo\.
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 32410, this pair ranks #297,477 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of foin vs folio
Shared letters: fio. Private to "foin": n. Private to "folio": l.
"foin" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "folio" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "foin" for "folio" ever safe?
Which is more common, "foin" or "folio"?
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 "foin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "folio" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #297,477 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foin" and "folio" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "FIV vs foin". 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 #297,477 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.