Which to use
“foncée” and “fondés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,943
- “foncée” frequency rank
- #17,711
- “fondés” frequency rank
- 39654
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foncée | fondés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gradin dans les carrières d’ardoise. | Pluriel de fondé. |
Where the eye mixes foncée and fondés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. foncée (CVCCVV) and fondés (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses foncée with fondés
A purely visual mix-up. foncée (\fɔ̃.se\) and fondés (\fɔ̃.de\) 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 39654, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foncée is recorded at frequency rank #21,943, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃.se\. fondés is at rank #17,711, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃.de\.
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 39654, this pair ranks #246,361 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of foncée vs fondés
Shared letters: fnoé. Private to "foncée": ce. Private to "fondés": ds.
"foncée" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "fondés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "foncée" and "fondés" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "foncée" or "fondés" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "foncée" and "fondés" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "foncée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fondés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #246,361 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foncée" and "fondés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "foncée vs fronce". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #246,361 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.