vaivsvirWhich spelling fits?

Quick tell: vai is a verb, vir is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#39,008
“vai” frequency rank
#35,303
“vir” frequency rank
74311
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vai vir
Definition Tercera persona del singular (el, ela, vostede) del presente de indicativo de ir. Mutación suave del sustantivo femenino bir ('flecha')

Where the eye mixes vai and vir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. vai (CVV) and vir (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

3 ch
vai
3 ch
vir

Look-alike desk: vai vs vir

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vai is [ˈba̠j] while vir is [ˈviːr]. 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 74311, 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]. vir is at rank #35,303, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːr].

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 74311, this pair ranks #21,543 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vai vs vir

Shared letters: iv. Private to "vai": a. Private to "vir": r.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vai" and "vir" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vai" is a verb and "vir" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "vai" vs "vir" - which ranks higher?
"vir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,303 in our Spanish list, against #39,008 for "vai". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #21,543 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vai" and "vir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vai vs VOR". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #21,543 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list