Which to use
“foo” and “FTP” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #43,447
- “foo” frequency rank
- #31,041
- “FTP” frequency rank
- 74488
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foo | FTP |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variable métasyntaxique en programmation informatique. | Résistant républicain français ; partisan d’une lutte de libération nationale. |
Where the eye mixes foo and FTP
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between foo and FTP
A purely visual mix-up. foo (\fu\) and FTP (\ɛf.te.pe\) 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 74488, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foo is recorded at frequency rank #43,447, classified as anoun, pronounced \fu\. FTP is at rank #31,041, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛf.te.pe\.
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 74488, this pair ranks #37,010 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of foo vs FTP
Shared letters: f. Private to "foo": o. Private to "FTP": pt.
"foo" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "FTP" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "foo" and "FTP" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "foo" or "FTP" show up more?
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 "foo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "FTP" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #37,010 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "foo" and "FTP" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs foo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #37,010 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.