Which to use
“van” is a noun and “voy” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,759
- “van” frequency rank
- #48,860
- “voy” frequency rank
- 50619
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | van | voy |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe irrégulier ir (« aller »). |
Where the eye mixes van and voy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses van with voy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: van is \vɑ̃\ while voy is \ˈboj\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50619, 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\. voy is at rank #48,860, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈboj\.
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 50619, this pair ranks #161,214 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of van vs voy
Shared letters: v. Private to "van": an. Private to "voy": oy.
"van" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "voy" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "van" and "voy" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "van" vs "voy" - which ranks higher?
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 "voy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #161,214 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "van" and "voy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "viv vs voy". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #161,214 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.