Which to use
“vaches” and “vices” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,766
- “vaches” frequency rank
- #16,506
- “vices” frequency rank
- 23272
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vaches | vices |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de vache. | Pluriel de vice. |
Where the eye mixes vaches and vices
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. vaches runs 6 letters (CVCCVC) against vices's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: vaches vs vices
A purely visual mix-up. vaches (\vaʃ\) and vices (\visəz\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vaches is recorded at frequency rank #6,766, classified as anoun, pronounced \vaʃ\. vices is at rank #16,506, tagged as anoun, pronounced \visəz\.
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 23272, this pair ranks #353,446 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vaches vs vices
Shared letters: cesv. Private to "vaches": ah. Private to "vices": i.
"vaches" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC · "vices" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vaches" for "vices" ever safe?
Frequency check: "vaches" vs "vices" - which ranks higher?
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 "vaches" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vices" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #353,446 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vaches" and "vices" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vices vs virées". 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 #353,446 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.