A fawn is a baby deer. If you flatter that deer to win their friendship by saying "What pretty white spots you have!" then you are fawning over it. In comparison, a faun is a half-human half-goat creature found in mythological legends.

The cute young deer with the white spots is the best-known meaning of the word fawn. But fawn is also a light gray-brown color, similar to a deer's coat. The color helps deer blend into the woods to avoid being seen by predators. As a verb, the word fawn means to be overly friendly and flattering — often for something in return. For example, a recent lottery winner may find she has more "friends" fawning over her than she ever knew she had! Here are a few examples of the correct uses of fawn:

My heart still leaps when I see a spotted fawn. (The Washington Post)

Fabrics are not just brown; they are "future-wordly tones of melting taupe, fawn, biscuit, and greige." (The New Yorker)

Yes, they fawned on her when she spoke to them and glowered at her when her back was turned. (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)

The word faun comes from the name of an ancient Roman woodland god named Faunus, similar to the ancient Greek god named Pan. In ancient Italian culture, a faun was like a mini-Faunus, a woodland creature in human shape but with a goat's legs, horns, and ears. The faun shows up in art and modern literature as well as in mythology. Michelangelo's first known marble sculpture, created when he was about sixteen years old, is Mask of a Faun. In C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, the character of Mr. Tumnus is a faun. Fauns are often portrayed dancing and playing a flute. Check out the following examples of faun:

I always thought when Gram talked about magic, she meant fairies and fauns and forest trolls. (How to Disappear Completely)

Guided by a pale faun, Ofelia must prove her mettle in this strange world. (Los Angeles Times)

Both fawns and fauns are woodland creatures, but a fawn, with the w in its name, is of this world, and a faun, with the u in its name, is an unearthly creature of mythology. Another way to think about it is that an adorable fawn has the "Awww!" factor, and a faun is half-human.