vilain

/\vi.lɛ̃\/ adj

Letters

6 characters

Frequency Rank

#10,607

in French word usage

Misspellings

8

tracked variants

Confusables

18

similar word pairs

vilain is anFrenchadj. It means: Qui déplaît à la vue. Pronounced \vi.lɛ̃\. Often confused with vlan and vilar.

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

Frequency rank visualization

Position of vilain in French word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for vilain is 6 letters long, classified as anadj, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \vi.lɛ̃\. Corpus data places it at rank #10,607 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 8 documented wrong-spelling variants for vilain, with forms such as "ivlain", "vialin", and "vilainn". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, 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, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct French form is vilain, spelled V-I-L-A-I-N, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

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.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: ivlain,vialin,vilainn,vilani,vilian,villain,vliain,vvilain

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

Relative frequency of common misspelling types for vilain

Misspelling Variants of "vilain"

ivlain6vialin6vilainn7vilani6vilian6villain7vliain6vvilain7
Misspelling Variants of "vilain"

Frequency rank: #10,607 in French

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 adj, "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.

Nearby French words

Other entries that begin with the letter V in our French index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.