viervsvitaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vier is a num, vita is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vier” is a num and “vita” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#328
“vier” frequency rank
#8,963
“vita” frequency rank
9291
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vier vita
Definition die Kardinalzahl zwischen drei und fünf wissen, kennen

Where the eye mixes vier and vita

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

4 ch
vier
4 ch
vita

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vier is [fiːɐ̯] while vita is [ˈviːta]. 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 (num vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9291, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vier is recorded at frequency rank #328, classified as anum, pronounced [fiːɐ̯]. vita is at rank #8,963, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈviːta].

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 9291, this pair ranks #1,980,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vier vs vita

Shared letters: iv. Private to "vier": er. Private to "vita": at.

"vier" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "vita" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vieriver · veir · vierr · vire · vvier
  • vitaivta · viat · vitta · vtia · vvita

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vier" and "vita" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vier" is a num and "vita" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vier" or "vita"?
"vier" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #328 in our German list, against #8,963 for "vita". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

What to do next

You've compared "vier" and "vita". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vier" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vita" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #1,980,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vier" and "vita" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vila vs vita". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list