vasvsvidWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vas is a verb, vid is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vas” is a verb and “vid” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#47,809
“vas” frequency rank
#42,925
“vid” frequency rank
90734
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vas vid
Definition 2. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs aller weit

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vas and vid apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
vas
3 ch
vid

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vas is [va] while vid is [ˈviːd]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 90734, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vas is recorded at frequency rank #47,809, classified as averb, pronounced [va]. vid is at rank #42,925, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈviːd].

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 90734, this pair ranks #44,224 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vas vs vid

Shared letters: v. Private to "vas": as. Private to "vid": di.

"vas" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "vid" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

vas#47,809
vid#42,925

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vas" and "vid" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vas" is a verb and "vid" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vas" or "vid"?
"vid" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #42,925 in our German list, against #47,809 for "vas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vas vs vid

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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