Which to use
“vibes” and “vis” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #14,045
- “vibes” frequency rank
- #16,614
- “vis” frequency rank
- 30659
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vibes | vis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of vibe | Force; energy; might; power. |
Where the eye mixes vibes and vis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. vibes runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against vis's 3 (CVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between vibes and vis
A purely visual mix-up. vibes (/vaɪbz/) and vis (/vɪs/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30659, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vibes is recorded at frequency rank #14,045, classified as anoun, pronounced /vaɪbz/. vis is at rank #16,614, tagged as anoun, pronounced /vɪs/.
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 30659, this pair ranks #352,718 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vibes vs vis
Shared letters: isv. Private to "vibes": be. Private to "vis": -.
"vibes" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "vis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vibes ← ivbes · vbies · vibbes · vibess · vibse · viebs · vvibes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vibes" for "vis" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vibes" or "vis"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vibes" 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 #352,718 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vibes" and "vis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "VH vs vis". 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
Confusion rank #352,718 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.