faxvsfewWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: fax is a noun, few is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“fax” is a noun and “few” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#14,370
“fax” frequency rank
#38,283
“few” frequency rank
52653
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fax few
Definition aparelho transmissor e receptor de documentos em fac-símile pouco; poucos

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fax and few apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
fax
3 ch
few

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fax is anoun and fewanadjective. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52653, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fax is recorded at frequency rank #14,370, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfaks/. few is at rank #38,283, tagged as anadj.

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 52653, this pair ranks #12,607 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fax vs few

Shared letters: f. Private to "fax": ax. Private to "few": ew.

"fax" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "few" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

fax#14,370
few#38,283

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fax" and "few" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fax" is a noun and "few" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fax" or "few"?
"fax" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,370 in our Portuguese list, against #38,283 for "few". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fax vs few

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “fax”; for an adjective, it's “few”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “fax” 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