Which to use
“fois” and “for” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #104
- “fois” frequency rank
- #2,077
- “for” frequency rank
- 2181
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fois | for |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nom qui se joint à un adjectif numéral pour indiquer qu’un fait s’est produit ou s’est répété. | Lieu où les tribunaux sont compétents pour exercer leur juridiction. |
Where the eye mixes fois and for
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fois and for
A purely visual mix-up. fois (\fwa\) and for (\fɔʁ\) 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 2181, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fois is recorded at frequency rank #104, classified as anoun, pronounced \fwa\. for is at rank #2,077, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔʁ\.
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 2181, this pair ranks #436,627 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fois vs for
Shared letters: fo. Private to "fois": is. Private to "for": r.
"fois" · 4 letters · shape CVVC · "for" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- fois ← ffois · fios · foiss · fosi · ofis
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fois" and "for" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "fois" or "for"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fois" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "for" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #436,627 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fois" and "for" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs for". 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 #436,627 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.