fezvsfezesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“fez” and “fezes” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#203
“fez” frequency rank
#15,115
“fezes” frequency rank
15318
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fez fezes
Definition barrete em forma de cone truncado (usado por alguns muçulmanos) substância resultante do processo de digestão que não foi aproveitada pelo organismo; excremento

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set fez and fezes apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
fez
5 ch
fezes

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. fez (/ˈfes/) and fezes (/ˈfɛ.zis/) 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 extra letter(s) - “fez” sits inside “fezes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15318, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fez is recorded at frequency rank #203, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈfes/. fezes is at rank #15,115, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈfɛ.zis/.

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 15318, this pair ranks #56,528 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of fez vs fezes

Shared letters: efz. Private to "fez": -. Private to "fezes": s.

"fez" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fezes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • fezesefzes · feezs · fezess · fezse · fezzes · ffezes · fzees

Frequency comparison

fez#203
fezes#15,115

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fez" and "fezes" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈfes/ versus /ˈfɛ.zis/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "fez" or "fezes"?
"fez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #203 in our Portuguese list, against #15,115 for "fezes". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering fez vs fezes

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 “fez” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list