vilain

\vi.lɛ̃\

/\vi.lɛ̃\/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“vilain” has 8 generated spelling variants in the French index at frequency #10,607. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#10,607
frequency rank, French
2,061
“V” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
18
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui déplaît à la vue.

Corpus desk

Index FR-vilain · vilain · French

vilain · rank #10,607 · 8 variants · 18 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #10,607
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 18 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,061
  • PHOTO-FINISH vestiges

Nearest frequency peer: vestiges (-2 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Pairs de rang près de l'aimant d'erreurs « vilain »

Même bande de rareté: utile si une faute tombe sur un lemme voisin

corpus weight

What this shows « vilain » siège parmi ces pairs FrequencyWords; la profondeur des fautes est suivie à part dans le graphique d'édition.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

vilain vs vlan
67% similar
vilain vs vilar
67% similar
vilain vs vivait
67% similar

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

Key facts for vilain
PropertyValue
Headwordvilain
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\vi.lɛ̃\
Letters6
Frequency rank#10,607
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs18
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Fréquence de l'aimant d'erreurs « vilain »

La fréquence va de la poignée de mots du quotidien (gauche) à la longue queue presque jamais vue (droite).vilainse place ici:

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

L'axe est logarithmique: chaque tic marque environ dix fois moins de fréquence. Dans la même bande de rareté figurent « vestiges » (#10,605), « vo » (#10,609), « Verdun » (#10,604). Parmi 2,061 lemmes en « V », « vilain » est au #10,607. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around vilain (IPA \vi.lɛ̃\), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #10,607 among 2,061 “V” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for vilain, with forms such as "ivlain", "vialin", and "vilainn". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 18 confusable-pair relationships, "vlan", "vilar", "vivait", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is vilain, spelled V-I-L-A-I-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui déplaît à la vue.
  2. 2
    Qui est incommode ou désagréable.
  3. 3
    (en parlant de personnes, de paroles ou d’actions) Qui est laid moralement.
  4. 4
    Qui est dangereux.
  5. 5
    Qui est avare, qui vit mesquinement.
  6. 6
    Juridiquement libre.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how vilain appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Un edelweiss séché glissa d’une des enveloppes de rhodoïd et M. Abel le replaça avec des gestes précautionneux sur la photo aux vilaines couleurs qui lui servait de support : sur un vague fond de mosquée, trois militaires en calot et treillis se tenaient par l’épaule.
  2. Venez que je vous, comment dit-on ?… que je vous pansemente ce vilain pied.

Synonyms

mauvais

This word in other languages

wicked(English)feo(Español)übel(Deutsch)feio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ivlain
  • vialin
  • vilainn
  • vilani
  • vilian
  • villain
  • vliain
  • vvilain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of vilain - 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.

ivlain2vialin2vilainn1vilani2vilian2villain1vliain2vvilain1
Edit distance from "vilain"

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 "vilain"?
"vilain" is spelled V-I-L-A-I-N. The IPA pronunciation is \vi.lɛ̃\.
What does "vilain" mean?
As an adjective, "vilain" means: Qui déplaît à la vue.
What words are commonly confused with "vilain"?
"vilain" is commonly confused with "vlan", "vilar", "vivait". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "vilain"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "vilain" is \vi.lɛ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "vilain" come from?
"vilain" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
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.

Similar French words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "vilain", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked French headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Verdun#10,604votent#10,610élysée#10,618sécher#10,592

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

annulée8 variantsarmure8 variantsrenvoi8 variantschuck8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list