valevsvalleWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vale is a verb, valle is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vale” is a verb and “valle” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,280
“vale” frequency rank
#36,200
“valle” frequency rank
63480
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vale valle
Definition Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de valer. Val, vallée, vallon.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vale and valle apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
vale
5 ch
valle

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vale is \val\ while valle is [ˈbaʎe]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63480, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vale is recorded at frequency rank #27,280, classified as averb, pronounced \val\. valle is at rank #36,200, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈbaʎe].

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 63480, this pair ranks #81,748 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vale vs valle

Shared letters: aelv. Private to "vale": -. Private to "valle": -.

"vale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "valle" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • valeavle · vael · vlae · vvale
  • valleavlle · valel · vlale · vvalle

Frequency comparison

vale#27,280
valle#36,200

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vale" and "valle" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vale" is a verb and "valle" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vale" or "valle"?
"vale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #27,280 in our French list, against #36,200 for "valle". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vale vs valle

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “vale”; for a noun, it's “valle”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vale” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list