vai vs vez, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“vai” is a verb and “vez” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,008
“vai” frequency rank: #67
“vez” frequency rank: 39075
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	vai	vez
Definition	Tercera persona del singular (el, ela, vostede) del presente de indicativo de ir.	Alternación de las cosas por turno u orden sucesivo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vai and vez apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

vai

3 ch

vez

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vai is [ˈba̠j] while vez is [ˈbes]. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 39075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vai is recorded at frequency rank #39,008, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈba̠j]. vez is at rank #67, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbes].

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 39075, this pair ranks #166,525 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vai vs vez

Shared letters: v. Private to "vai": ai. Private to "vez": ez.

"vai" · 3 letters · shape CVV · "vez" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

vai#39,008

vez#67

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vai" and "vez" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vai" is a verb and "vez" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "vai" or "vez"?

"vez" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #67 in our Spanish list, against #39,008 for "vai". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering vai vs vez

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vai”; for a noun, it's “vez”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vai” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable