fil vs fútil, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#35,592
“fil” frequency rank: #22,994
“fútil” frequency rank: 58586
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	fil	fútil
Definition	fio	incapaz de produzir qualquer resultado; inútil

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch

fil

5 ch

fútil

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: fil is /fil/ while fútil is /ˈfu.tiɫ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58586, 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/. fútil is at rank #22,994, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈfu.tiɫ/.

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 58586, this pair ranks #8,662 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of fil vs fútil

Shared letters: fil. Private to "fil": -. Private to "fútil": tú.

"fil" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "fútil" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Frequency comparison

fil#35,592

fútil#22,994

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "fil" and "fútil" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "fil" is a noun and "fútil" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "fil" or "fútil"?

"fútil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,994 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 fútil

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 “fútil”.
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