fondésvsfondsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fondés” and “fonds” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#17,711
“fondés” frequency rank
#1,062
“fonds” frequency rank
18773
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fondés fonds
Definition Pluriel de fondé. Ensemble de biens matériels ou immatériels servant à l’usage principal d’une activité.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fondés and fonds apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
fondés
5 ch
fonds

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fondés (\fɔ̃.de\) and fonds (\fɔ̃\) 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 18773, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fondés is recorded at frequency rank #17,711, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃.de\. fonds is at rank #1,062, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃\.

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 18773, this pair ranks #376,652 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of fondés vs fonds

Shared letters: dfnos. Private to "fondés": é. Private to "fonds": -.

"fondés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "fonds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fondsffonds · fnods · fodns · fondds · fondss · fonnds · fonsd · ofnds

Frequency comparison

fondés#17,711
fonds#1,062

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fondés" and "fonds" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fɔ̃.de\ versus \fɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fondés" or "fonds"?
"fonds" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,062 in our French list, against #17,711 for "fondés". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering fondés vs fonds

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fondés” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list