ftvsfûtsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#17,714
“ft” frequency rank
#21,949
“fûts” frequency rank
39663
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ft fûts
Definition feuillet. Pluriel de fût.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ft and fûts apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch
ft
4 ch
fûts

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. ft (\fœ.jɛ\) and fûts (\fy\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39663, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ft is recorded at frequency rank #17,714, classified as anoun, pronounced \fœ.jɛ\. fûts is at rank #21,949, tagged as anoun, pronounced \fy\.

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 39663, this pair ranks #246,312 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ft vs fûts

Shared letters: ft. Private to "ft": -. Private to "fûts": .

"ft" · 2 letters · shape CC  ·  "fûts" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Frequency comparison

ft#17,714
fûts#21,949

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ft" and "fûts" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\fœ.jɛ\ versus \fy\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "ft" or "fûts"?
"ft" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,714 in our French list, against #21,949 for "fûts". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ft vs fûts

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 “ft” 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