vansvsvendsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vans is a noun, vends is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vans” is a noun and “vends” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#32,229
“vans” frequency rank
#8,479
“vends” frequency rank
40708
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vans vends
Definition Pluriel de van. Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de vendre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vans and vends apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
vans
5 ch
vends

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: vans and vends carry the same recorded pronunciation, \vɑ̃\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40708, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vans is recorded at frequency rank #32,229, classified as anoun, pronounced \vɑ̃\. vends is at rank #8,479, tagged as averb, pronounced \vɑ̃\.

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 40708, this pair ranks #238,506 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vans vs vends

Shared letters: nsv. Private to "vans": a. Private to "vends": de.

"vans" · 4 letters · shape CVCC  ·  "vends" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vansavns · vanns · vanss · vasn · vnas · vvans
  • vendsevnds · vedns · vendds · vendss · vennds · vensd · vneds · vvends

Frequency comparison

vans#32,229
vends#8,479

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vans" and "vends" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vans" is a noun and "vends" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vans" or "vends"?
"vends" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,479 in our French list, against #32,229 for "vans". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vans vs vends

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “vans”; for a verb, it's “vends”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vans” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list