vielle

\vjɛl\

/\vjɛl\/ noun

The verdict

“vielle” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #17,035 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#17,035
frequency rank, French
6
letters
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Instrument de musique à cordes, dont on joue par le moyen de touches et d’une roue qu’on tourne avec une manivelle, qui permet de faire sonner les cordes mélodiques et bourdon, et, par accélération...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

vielle vs vile
67% similar
vielle vs ville
83% similar
vielle vs villa
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for vielle
PropertyValue
Headwordvielle
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\vjɛl\
Letters6
Frequency rank#17,035
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “vielle” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). vielle lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for vielle is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \vjɛl\. Corpus data places it at rank #17,035 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Instrument de musique à cordes, dont on joue par le moyen de touches et d’une roue qu’on tourne avec une manivelle, qui permet de faire sonner les cordes mélodiques et bourdon, et, par accélération...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for vielle, with forms such as "ivelle", "viele", and "vielel". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "vile", "ville", "villa", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best explained by sound-to-letter mapping rather than etymology. The correct French form is vielle, spelled V-I-E-L-L-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Instrument de musique à cordes, dont on joue par le moyen de touches et d’une roue qu’on tourne avec une manivelle, qui permet de faire sonner les cordes mélodiques et bourdon, et, par accélérations rapides, de faire vibrer la corde trompette et le chien pour donner un son caractéristique grésillant.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ivelle,viele,vielel,vilele,vvielle

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vielle - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ivelle2viele1vielel2vilele2vvielle1
Edit distance from "vielle"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "vielle"?
"vielle" is spelled V-I-E-L-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is \vjɛl\.
What does "vielle" mean?
As a noun, "vielle" means: Instrument de musique à cordes, dont on joue par le moyen de touches et d’une roue qu’on tourne avec une manivelle, qui permet de faire sonner les cordes mélodiques et bourdon, et, par accélération...
What words are commonly confused with "vielle"?
"vielle" is commonly confused with "vile", "ville", "villa". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vielle"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vielle" is \vjɛl\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "vielle" come from?
"vielle" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “vielle”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is V-I-E-L-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \vjɛl\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “vile” - see the side-by-side comparison. vielle vs vile
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list