vicarvsvilaWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“vicar” and “vila” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#17,990
“vicar” frequency rank
#40,956
“vila” frequency rank
58946
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vicar vila
Definition In the Church of England, the priest of a parish, receiving a salary or stipend but not tithes. A type of female nature spirit in Slavic mythology, similar in some ways to a fairy or nymph.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vicar and vila apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
vicar
4 ch
vila

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vicar (/ˈvɪkɚ/) and vila (/ˈviːlə/) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58946, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vicar is recorded at frequency rank #17,990, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈvɪkɚ/. vila is at rank #40,956, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈviːlə/.

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 58946, this pair ranks #109,266 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vicar vs vila

Shared letters: aiv. Private to "vicar": cr. Private to "vila": l.

"vicar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "vila" · 4 letters · shape CVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vicarivcar · vciar · viacr · vicarr · viccar · vicra · vvicar
  • vilaivla · vlia · vvila

Frequency comparison

vicar#17,990
vila#40,956

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vicar" and "vila" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈvɪkɚ/ versus /ˈviːlə/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vicar" or "vila"?
"vicar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #17,990 in our English list, against #40,956 for "vila". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vicar vs vila

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vicar” 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