Which to use
“aïeux” and “aveux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,331
- “aïeux” frequency rank
- #13,737
- “aveux” frequency rank
- 41068
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | aïeux | aveux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de aïeul : tous ceux de qui l’on descend. | Pluriel de aveu. |
Where the eye mixes aïeux and aveux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. aïeux and aveux follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses aïeux with aveux
A purely visual mix-up. aïeux (\a.jø\) and aveux (\a.vø\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - ï in “aïeux” becomes v in “aveux”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41068, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
aïeux is recorded at frequency rank #27,331, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.jø\. aveux is at rank #13,737, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.vø\.
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 41068, this pair ranks #235,758 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of aïeux vs aveux
Shared letters: aeux. Private to "aïeux": ï. Private to "aveux": v.
"aïeux" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC · "aveux" · 5 letters · shape VCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- aveux ← aevux · aveuxx · avexu · avuex · avveux · vaeux
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "aïeux" and "aveux" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "aïeux" or "aveux"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "aïeux" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aveux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #235,758 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "aïeux" and "aveux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "AIEA vs aïeux". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #235,758 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.