Which to use
“vale” and “vaut” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,280
- “vale” frequency rank
- #1,014
- “vaut” frequency rank
- 28294
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vale | vaut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de valer. | Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de valoir. |
Where the eye mixes vale and vaut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses vale with vaut
A purely visual mix-up. vale (\val\) and vaut (\vo\) 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 28294, 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\. vaut is at rank #1,014, tagged as averb, pronounced \vo\.
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 28294, this pair ranks #323,722 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vale vs vaut
Shared letters: av. Private to "vale": el. Private to "vaut": tu.
"vale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vaut" · 4 letters · shape CVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vale" and "vaut" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "vale" or "vaut"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vale" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vaut" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,722 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vale" and "vaut" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vale vs vial". 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 #323,722 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.