fonduvsfonsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fondu is a adjective, fons is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fondu” is an adjective and “fons” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#11,053
“fondu” frequency rank
#43,445
“fons” frequency rank
54498
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fondu fons
Definition Liquéfié. Fonds (patrimoine).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fondu and fons apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
fondu
4 ch
fons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fondu is anadjective and fonsanoun. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54498, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fondu is recorded at frequency rank #11,053, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɔ̃.dy\. fons is at rank #43,445, tagged as anoun.

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 54498, this pair ranks #133,615 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fondu vs fons

Shared letters: fno. Private to "fondu": du. Private to "fons": s.

"fondu" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "fons" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fonduffondu · fnodu · fodnu · fonddu · fonndu · fonud · ofndu
  • fonsffons · fnos · fonns · fonss · fosn · ofns

Frequency comparison

fondu#11,053
fons#43,445

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fondu" and "fons" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fondu" is an adjective and "fons" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fondu" or "fons"?
"fondu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,053 in our French list, against #43,445 for "fons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fondu vs fons

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “fondu”; for a noun, it's “fons”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fondu” 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