filvsfitWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#35,592
“fil” frequency rank
#21,187
“fit” frequency rank
56779
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature fil fit
Definition fio em boa forma

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
fil
3 ch
fit

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: fil is anoun and fitanadjective. On the page they differ by a single letter - l in “fil” becomes t in “fit”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56779, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

fil is recorded at frequency rank #35,592, classified as anoun, pronounced /fil/. fit is at rank #21,187, 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 56779, this pair ranks #9,751 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fil vs fit

Shared letters: fi. Private to "fil": l. Private to "fit": t.

"fil" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "fit" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

fil#35,592
fit#21,187

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fil" and "fit" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fil" is a noun and "fit" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "fil" or "fit"?
"fit" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,187 in our Portuguese list, against #35,592 for "fil". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering fil vs fit

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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