Which to use
“fonds” and “fondues” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,062
- “fonds” frequency rank
- #45,619
- “fondues” frequency rank
- 46681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fonds | fondues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ensemble de biens matériels ou immatériels servant à l’usage principal d’une activité. | Pluriel de fondue. |
Where the eye mixes fonds and fondues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. fonds runs 5 letters (CVCCC) against fondues's 7 (CVCCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between fonds and fondues
A purely visual mix-up. fonds (\fɔ̃\) and fondues (\fɔ̃.dy\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fonds is recorded at frequency rank #1,062, classified as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃\. fondues is at rank #45,619, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fɔ̃.dy\.
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 46681, this pair ranks #192,988 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of fonds vs fondues
Shared letters: dfnos. Private to "fonds": -. Private to "fondues": eu.
"fonds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "fondues" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "fonds" and "fondues" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "fonds" vs "fondues" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "fonds" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fondues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,988 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fonds" and "fondues" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fondeurs vs fondues". 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 #192,988 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.