Which to use
“van” and “vir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,759
- “van” frequency rank
- #46,521
- “vir” frequency rank
- 48280
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | van | vir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | Forme mutée de bir par adoucissement (b → v). |
Where the eye mixes van and vir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Visual trap between van and vir
A purely visual mix-up. van (\vɑ̃\) and vir (\ˈviː.r\) 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 48280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
van is recorded at frequency rank #1,759, classified as anoun, pronounced \vɑ̃\. vir is at rank #46,521, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈviː.r\.
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 48280, this pair ranks #180,169 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of van vs vir
Shared letters: v. Private to "van": an. Private to "vir": ir.
"van" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "vir" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "van" for "vir" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "van" or "vir" show up more?
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 "van" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #180,169 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "van" and "vir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vir vs viv". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #180,169 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.