fritesvsfritsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“frites” and “frits” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,697
“frites” frequency rank
#37,821
“frits” frequency rank
45518
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature frites frits
Definition Féminin pluriel de frit. Masculin pluriel de frit.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set frites and frits apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
frites
5 ch
frits

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. frites (\fʁit\) and frits (\fʁi\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45518, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

frites is recorded at frequency rank #7,697, classified as anadj, pronounced \fʁit\. frits is at rank #37,821, tagged as anadj, pronounced \fʁi\.

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 45518, this pair ranks #202,155 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of frites vs frits

Shared letters: first. Private to "frites": e. Private to "frits": -.

"frites" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "frits" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fritesffrites · firtes · friets · fritess · fritse · frittes · frrites · frties
  • fritsffrits · fritss · fritts · frrits · frtis · rfits

Frequency comparison

frites#7,697
frits#37,821

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "frites" and "frits" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fʁit\ versus \fʁi\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "frites" or "frits"?
"frites" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,697 in our French list, against #37,821 for "frits". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering frites vs frits

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “frites” 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