Which to use
“viles” is an adjective and “vilo” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,399
- “viles” frequency rank
- #41,132
- “vilo” frequency rank
- 75531
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | viles | vilo |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Forma del plural de vil. | Véase en vilo |
Where the eye mixes viles and vilo
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. viles runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against vilo's 4 (CVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses viles with vilo
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: viles is [ˈbiles] while vilo is [ˈbilo]. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 75531, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
viles is recorded at frequency rank #34,399, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˈbiles]. vilo is at rank #41,132, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbilo].
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 75531, this pair ranks #19,358 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of viles vs vilo
Shared letters: ilv. Private to "viles": es. Private to "vilo": o.
"viles" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "vilo" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "viles" for "vilo" ever safe?
Frequency check: "viles" vs "vilo" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "viles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vilo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #19,358 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "viles" and "vilo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vilo vs visos". 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 #19,358 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.