Français homophones

vain/vains/vin/vingt/vingts/vins

"vain" is an adjective; "vin" is a noun - grammar picks the spelling, not sound. Size rank #20 of 9,139 French groups.

Data vintage 2026-05-06

Grammar picks the spelling

Same sound, different grammar: "vain" arrives as an adjective, while "vin" is a noun. Once the sentence role is fixed, only one spelling fits.

Spelling pairs in this cluster

Shared stem "vain" then splits - "vain" (4 letters) vs "vains" (5).
No shared spelling stem: "vain" is 4 letters, "vin" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "vain" is 4 letters, "vingt" is 5; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "vain" is 4 letters, "vingts" is 6; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "vain" is 4 letters, "vins" is 4; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "vains" is 5 letters, "vin" is 3; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "vains" is 5 letters, "vingt" is 5; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "vains" is 5 letters, "vingts" is 6; only the sound ties them.
No shared spelling stem: "vains" is 5 letters, "vins" is 4; only the sound ties them.
Shared stem "vin" then splits - "vin" (3 letters) vs "vingt" (5).
Shared stem "vin" then splits - "vin" (3 letters) vs "vingts" (6).
Shared stem "vin" then splits - "vin" (3 letters) vs "vins" (4).
Shared stem "vingt" then splits - "vingt" (5 letters) vs "vingts" (6).
Shared stem "vin" then splits - "vingt" (5 letters) vs "vins" (4).
Shared stem "vin" then splits - "vingts" (6 letters) vs "vins" (4).

Orthographic DNA of this cluster

Shared letters across vain, vains, vin, vingt, vingts, vins: inv. Private letters are the ones only one spelling owns: the eye's fastest tell once sound is out of the picture.

vain
4 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVVC
Inventory ainv · private a
vains
5 letters · 2 vowels · shape CVVCC
Inventory ainsv · private as
vin
3 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVC
Inventory inv · no private letters vs siblings
vingt
5 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVCCC
Inventory gintv · private gt
vingts
6 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVCCCC
Inventory ginstv · private gst
vins
4 letters · 1 vowels · shape CVCC
Inventory insv · private s

Pick the spelling from the meaning

Write "vain" when you mean: Qui est inutile, qui ne produit rien.
Write "vains" when you mean: Masculin pluriel de l’adjectif vain.
Write "vin" when you mean: Boisson alcoolique obtenue par fermentation du jus de raisin et connue depuis plusieurs millénaires.
Write "vingt" when you mean: Dix-neuf plus un, soit deux fois dix, adjectif numéral cardinal correspondant au nombre 20.
Write "vingts" when you mean: Pluriel de vingt. Note d’usage : Aujourd’hui il est utilisé seulement dans quatre-vingts, mais il était plus commun comme l’Hôpital des Q…
Write "vins" when you mean: Pluriel de vin.

Known mistypes of these spellings

Edit-distance variants recorded against this cluster: useful when a search or OCR feed lands on the wrong form.

vain ← avin · vainn · vani · vvain
vains ← avins · vainns · vainss · vaisn · vanis · vians
vingt ← ivngt · vignt · vinggt · vingtt · vinngt · vintg
vingts ← ivngts · vignts · vinggts · vingst · vingtss · vingtts
vins ← ivns · vinns · vinss · visn · vnis · vvins

Each spelling

vain

adjective · /\vɛ̃\/ · #6,447 frequency

Qui est inutile, qui ne produit rien.

vains

adjective · /\vɛ̃\/ · #33,932 frequency

Masculin pluriel de l’adjectif vain.

vin

noun · /\vɛ̃\/ · #1,383 frequency

Boisson alcoolique obtenue par fermentation du jus de raisin et connue depuis plusieurs millénaires.

vingt

adjective · /\vɛ̃\/ · #1,281 frequency

Dix-neuf plus un, soit deux fois dix, adjectif numéral cardinal correspondant au nombre 20.

vingts

noun · /\vɛ̃\/ · #22,732 frequency

Pluriel de vingt. Note d’usage : Aujourd’hui il est utilisé seulement dans quatre-vingts, mais il était plus commun comme l’Hôpital des Quinze-Vingts à Paris.

vins

noun · /\vɛ̃\/ · #3,370 frequency

Pluriel de vin.