Which to use
“fonds” and “fours” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,062
- “fonds” frequency rank
- #13,175
- “fours” frequency rank
- 14237
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fonds | fours |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ensemble de biens matériels ou immatériels servant à l’usage principal d’une activité. | Pluriel de four. |
Where the eye mixes fonds and fours
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. fonds (CVCCC) and fours (CVVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: fonds vs fours
A purely visual mix-up. fonds (\fɔ̃\) and fours (\fuʁ\) 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 14237, 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\. fours is at rank #13,175, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fuʁ\.
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 14237, this pair ranks #397,556 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fonds vs fours
Shared letters: fos. Private to "fonds": dn. Private to "fours": ru.
"fonds" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "fours" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fonds" and "fours" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "fonds" vs "fours" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
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 "fours" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #397,556 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fonds" and "fours" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fouets vs fours". 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 #397,556 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.