vidvsvisConfusable pair

Quick tell: vid is a adjective, vis is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#42,925
“vid” frequency rank
#23,775
“vis” frequency rank
66700
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vid vis
Definition weit Schraube

Where the eye mixes vid and vis

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.

3 ch
vid
3 ch
vis

Visual trap between vid and vis

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vid is [ˈviːd] while vis is [vis]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “vid” becomes s in “vis”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 66700, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vid is recorded at frequency rank #42,925, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈviːd]. vis is at rank #23,775, tagged as anoun, pronounced [vis].

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 66700, this pair ranks #564,438 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vid vs vis

Shared letters: iv. Private to "vid": d. Private to "vis": s.

"vid" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "vis" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vid" and "vis" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vid" is an adjective and "vis" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vid" or "vis"?
"vis" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,775 in our German list, against #42,925 for "vid". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vid" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #564,438 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vid" and "vis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vid vs voip". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #564,438 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list