valsvsvesWhich spelling fits?

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

Which to use

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

#22,539
“vals” frequency rank
#1,048
“ves” frequency rank
23587
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vals ves
Definition Baile de pareja, de origen alemán, que se ejecuta con movimiento giratorio y de traslación, colocando el hombre su mano derecha en la cintura de la mujer y su izquierda en la mano derecha de ella. Segunda persona del singular (tú, vos) del presente de indicativo de ver o de verse.

Where the eye mixes vals and ves

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

4 ch
vals
3 ch
ves

Visual trap between vals and ves

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vals is [ˈbals] while ves is [ˈbes]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23587, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vals is recorded at frequency rank #22,539, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbals]. ves is at rank #1,048, tagged as averb, 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 23587, this pair ranks #245,080 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vals vs ves

Shared letters: sv. Private to "vals": al. Private to "ves": e.

"vals" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "ves" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • valsavls · valss · vasl · vvals

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vals" and "ves" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vals" is a noun and "ves" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "vals" vs "ves" - which ranks higher?
"ves" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,048 in our Spanish list, against #22,539 for "vals". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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 "vals" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #245,080 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vals" and "ves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vals vs vel". 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 #245,080 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