vicevsvirTell them apart

Which to use

“vice” and “vir” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,803
“vice” frequency rank
#35,303
“vir” frequency rank
43106
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vice vir
Definition Vicepresidente. Mutación suave del sustantivo femenino bir ('flecha')

Where the eye mixes vice and vir

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

4 ch
vice
3 ch
vir

Visual trap between vice and vir

A purely visual mix-up. vice ([ˈbise]) and vir ([ˈviːr]) 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 43106, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vice is recorded at frequency rank #7,803, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈbise]. 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 43106, this pair ranks #144,491 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vice vs vir

Shared letters: iv. Private to "vice": ce. Private to "vir": r.

"vice" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "vir" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vicebice · ivce · vcie · vicce · viec · vise · vvice

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "vice" and "vir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently ([ˈbise] versus [ˈviːr]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vice" vs "vir" - which ranks higher?
"vice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,803 in our Spanish list, against #35,303 for "vir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "vice" 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 #144,491 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vice" and "vir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vir vs VOR". 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 #144,491 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