Which to use
“fui” is a verb and “fût” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,318
- “fui” frequency rank
- #7,062
- “fût” frequency rank
- 16380
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | fui | fût |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé masculin singulier de fuir. | Bois sur lequel est monté le canon d’un fusil, d’une arquebuse, d’un pistolet, etc. |
Where the eye mixes fui and fût
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses fui with fût
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fui is \fɥi\ while fût is \fy\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 16380, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
fui is recorded at frequency rank #9,318, classified as averb, pronounced \fɥi\. fût is at rank #7,062, 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 16380, this pair ranks #388,098 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of fui vs fût
Shared letters: f. Private to "fui": iu. Private to "fût": tû.
"fui" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "fût" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "fui" and "fût" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "fui" or "fût" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "fui" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fût" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #388,098 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "fui" and "fût" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Fee vs fui". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #388,098 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.