Which to use
“vir” is a noun and “von” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #35,303
- “vir” frequency rank
- #7,806
- “von” frequency rank
- 43109
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vir | von |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Mutación suave del sustantivo femenino bir ('flecha') | De. |
Where the eye mixes vir and von
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. vir and von follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between vir and von
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vir is [ˈviːr] while von is /fɔn/. 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 (noun vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43109, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vir is recorded at frequency rank #35,303, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈviːr]. von is at rank #7,806, tagged as aprep, pronounced /fɔn/.
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 43109, this pair ranks #144,474 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vir vs von
Shared letters: v. Private to "vir": ir. Private to "von": no.
"vir" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "von" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vir" for "von" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "vir" or "von" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "vir" and "von" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "von" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #144,474 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vir" and "von" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vir vs VOR". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #144,474 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.