Which to use
“valoir” and “valser” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,304
- “valoir” frequency rank
- #41,583
- “valser” frequency rank
- 46887
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | valoir | valser |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Être d’un certain prix ; avoir un certain mérite. | Danser la valse, une valse. |
Where the eye mixes valoir and valser
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. valoir (CVCVVC) and valser (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: valoir vs valser
A purely visual mix-up. valoir (\va.lwaʁ\) and valser (\val.se\) 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 46887, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
valoir is recorded at frequency rank #5,304, classified as averb, pronounced \va.lwaʁ\. valser is at rank #41,583, tagged as averb, pronounced \val.se\.
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 46887, this pair ranks #191,265 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of valoir vs valser
Shared letters: alrv. Private to "valoir": io. Private to "valser": es.
"valoir" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "valser" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "valoir" for "valser" ever safe?
Which is more common, "valoir" or "valser"?
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 "valoir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "valser" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #191,265 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "valoir" and "valser" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "valser vs visser". 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 #191,265 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.