Which to use
“foyer” is a noun and “frôler” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,260
- “foyer” frequency rank
- #35,520
- “frôler” frequency rank
- 38780
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | foyer | frôler |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | (Selon certains auteurs) Partie d’une cheminée se trouvant au devant de l’âtre (on brûle le bois), Il se trouve donc en dehors des jambages de la cheminée. Il est souvent constitué de pierres ou de briques si le sol de la pièce est en parquet. | Toucher légèrement en passant, ou passer très près, effleurer. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set foyer and frôler apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: foyer is \fwa.je\ while frôler is \fʁo.le\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38780, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
foyer is recorded at frequency rank #3,260, classified as anoun, pronounced \fwa.je\. frôler is at rank #35,520, tagged as averb, pronounced \fʁo.le\.
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 38780, this pair ranks #252,857 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of foyer vs frôler
Shared letters: efr. Private to "foyer": oy. Private to "frôler": lô.
"foyer" · 5 letters · shape CVVVC · "frôler" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- foyer ← ffoyer · foeyr · foyerr · foyre · foyyer · fyoer · ofyer
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "foyer" and "frôler" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "foyer" or "frôler"?
Remembering foyer vs frôler
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “foyer”; for a verb, it's “frôler”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “foyer” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable