Which to use
“van” and “vrac” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,759
- “van” frequency rank
- #16,269
- “vrac” frequency rank
- 18028
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | van | vrac |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Marchandise qui n’est pas emballée ou conditionnée lors de son transport ou de sa distribution. |
Where the eye mixes van and vrac
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: van vs vrac
A purely visual mix-up. van (\vɑ̃\) and vrac (\vʁak\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18028, 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\. vrac is at rank #16,269, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vʁak\.
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 18028, this pair ranks #380,332 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of van vs vrac
Shared letters: av. Private to "van": n. Private to "vrac": cr.
"van" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "vrac" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vrac ← rvac · varc · vracc · vrca · vrrac · vvrac
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "van" and "vrac" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "van" or "vrac"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "van" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vrac" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #380,332 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "van" and "vrac" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vlan vs vrac". 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 #380,332 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.