vidvsviveWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#42,925
“vid” frequency rank
#37,878
“vive” frequency rank
80803
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vid vive
Definition weit Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs viver (unabhängig von Person und Numerus)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vid and vive apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
vid
4 ch
vive

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: vid is anadjective and viveaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 80803, 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]. vive is at rank #37,878, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 80803, this pair ranks #188,154 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vid vs vive

Shared letters: iv. Private to "vid": d. Private to "vive": e.

"vid" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "vive" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • viveivve · viev · vivve · vvie · vvive

Frequency comparison

vid#42,925
vive#37,878

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vid" and "vive" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vid" is an adjective and "vive" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vid" or "vive"?
"vive" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,878 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.

Remembering vid vs vive

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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