Which to use
“vais” is a verb and “van” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #219
- “vais” frequency rank
- #1,759
- “van” frequency rank
- 1978
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vais | van |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de aller. | Instrument d’osier, en forme de coquille, qui a deux anses, et dont on se sert pour secouer le grain, les impuretés, afin de séparer la paille d’avec le bon grain. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vais and van apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
vais and van form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1978, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vais is recorded at frequency rank #219, classified as averb, pronounced \vɛ\. van is at rank #1,759, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vɑ̃\.
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 1978, this pair ranks #437,015 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vais" and "van" be used interchangeably?
Remembering vais vs van
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vais”; for a noun, it's “van”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vais” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable