Which to use
“fortes” and “frites” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,927
- “fortes” frequency rank
- #7,697
- “frites” frequency rank
- 10624
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fortes | frites |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de fort. | Féminin pluriel de frit. |
Where the eye mixes fortes and frites
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between fortes and frites
A purely visual mix-up. fortes (\fɔʁt\) and frites (\fʁit\) 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 10624, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fortes is recorded at frequency rank #2,927, classified as anadj, pronounced \fɔʁt\. frites is at rank #7,697, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fʁit\.
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 10624, this pair ranks #412,282 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fortes vs frites
Shared letters: efrst. Private to "fortes": o. Private to "frites": i.
"fortes" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "frites" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "fortes" for "frites" ever safe?
Frequency check: "fortes" vs "frites" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fortes" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "frites" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #412,282 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fortes" and "frites" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "frites vs friteuse". 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 #412,282 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.