Which to use
“variée” and “virile” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,587
- “variée” frequency rank
- #34,357
- “virile” frequency rank
- 51944
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | variée | virile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de varié. | Féminin singulier de viril. |
Where the eye mixes variée and virile
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. variée (CVCVVV) and virile (CVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses variée with virile
A purely visual mix-up. variée (\va.ʁje\) and virile (\vi.ʁil\) 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 51944, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
variée is recorded at frequency rank #17,587, classified as anadj, pronounced \va.ʁje\. virile is at rank #34,357, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vi.ʁil\.
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 51944, this pair ranks #151,287 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of variée vs virile
Shared letters: eirv. Private to "variée": aé. Private to "virile": l.
"variée" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVV · "virile" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- virile ← ivrile · viirle · viriel · virille · virlie · virrile · vriile · vvirile
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "variée" and "virile" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "variée" or "virile"?
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 "variée" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "virile" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #151,287 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "variée" and "virile" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vigie vs virile". 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 #151,287 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.