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'Fair' means just, light in colour, or a public event; 'fare' is the price of transport or how you get on.
Side-by-side comparison
"Fair" means just, equitable, or also blonde, attractive, or a fair/festival. "That's not fair" = that is not just. "Fair hair" = blonde hair.
The judge made a fair and impartial decision.
She has fair skin that burns easily in the sun.
The city holds an annual trade fair every October.
"Fare" is the price of public transport: a bus, metro, or taxi ticket. Also the type of food served at a restaurant.
The taxi fare from the airport to the hotel was higher than expected.
How did you fare in the interview? Did they offer you the position?
Train fares have increased by eight percent this year.
Common mistake
- •"What is the train fair to London?" is wrong: the ticket price is "fare".
- •"Fair" is the event, what is just, or the adjective for blonde.
- •"Fare thee well" is the correct formal farewell, not "fair thee well".
Trick to remember it
- •"Fair" has AI like "air": think of fresh air at a fairground or fair treatment.
- •"Fare" rhymes with "care" and "share": paying a fare is about sharing the cost of a journey.
Quick rule
- •Is it just, blonde, or a public event? "Fair".
- •Is it the price of a journey or how you manage? "Fare".
Did you know?
The word "farewell" comes from "fare well", may your journey go well. "Fare" as an Old English verb meant to travel or to get along: "fare forth" = to set out, "fare badly" = to do poorly. The phrase "fare thee well" was used by Shakespeare and Elizabethan writers. Today "farewell" survives as a noun ("a farewell party") even though the verb "fare" in that sense is now archaic.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The bus _____ has gone up again. It now costs £2.50 for a single journey.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
It's not _____ ! She got a bigger slice of cake than me.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One means to receive or agree to something, the other means to exclude or not include.
'Advice' is the guidance you receive (noun); 'advise' is the act of giving that guidance (verb).
'Affect' is the verb meaning to influence something; 'effect' is the noun meaning result or consequence.
'Aisle' is the walkway between rows of seats or shelves; 'isle' is a small island.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy