Which to use
“vale” and “vola” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,280
- “vale” frequency rank
- #45,375
- “vola” frequency rank
- 72655
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vale | vola |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de valer. | Troisième personne du singulier du passé simple du verbe voler. |
Where the eye mixes vale and vola
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. vale and vola follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between vale and vola
A purely visual mix-up. vale (\val\) and vola (\vɔ.la\) 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 72655, 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\. vola is at rank #45,375, tagged as averb, pronounced \vɔ.la\.
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 72655, this pair ranks #43,244 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of vale vs vola
Shared letters: alv. Private to "vale": e. Private to "vola": o.
"vale" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vola" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vale" for "vola" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vale" or "vola"?
What to do next
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 "vola" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #43,244 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vale" and "vola" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vlan vs vola". 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 #43,244 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.