vœuvsvirWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“vœu” and “vir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#11,688
“vœu” frequency rank
#46,521
“vir” frequency rank
58209
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vœu vir
Definition Promesse faite à Dieu, par laquelle on s’engage à quelque œuvre que l’on croit lui être agréable, et qui n’est pas de précepte. Forme mutée de bir par adoucissement (b → v).

Where the eye mixes vœu and vir

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

3 ch
vœu
3 ch
vir

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vœu (\vø\) and vir (\ˈviː.r\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58209, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vœu is recorded at frequency rank #11,688, classified as anoun, pronounced \vø\. vir is at rank #46,521, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈviː.r\.

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 58209, this pair ranks #110,409 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vœu vs vir

Shared letters: v. Private to "vœu": . Private to "vir": ir.

"vœu" · 3 letters · shape CVV  ·  "vir" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vœu" and "vir" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\vø\ versus \ˈviː.r\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vœu" or "vir"?
"vœu" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,688 in our French list, against #46,521 for "vir". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list