Which to use
“variole” and “vrille” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #26,918
- “variole” frequency rank
- #24,077
- “vrille” frequency rank
- 50995
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | variole | vrille |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Maladie générale, infectieuse et contagieuse, des humains et des animaux, caractérisée par une éruption de boutons pustuleux, qui laissent ordinairement de petits creux dans la peau après la guérison. | Pousse filiforme, en spirale avec laquelle la vigne et d’autres plantes grimpantes s’attachent aux corps qui sont près d’elles. |
Where the eye mixes variole and vrille
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. variole runs 7 letters (CVCVVCV) against vrille's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: variole vs vrille
A purely visual mix-up. variole (\va.ʁjɔl\) and vrille (\vʁij\) 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 50995, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
variole is recorded at frequency rank #26,918, classified as anoun, pronounced \va.ʁjɔl\. vrille is at rank #24,077, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vʁij\.
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 50995, this pair ranks #158,363 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of variole vs vrille
Shared letters: eilrv. Private to "variole": ao. Private to "vrille": -.
"variole" · 7 letters · shape CVCVVCV · "vrille" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "variole" and "vrille" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "variole" or "vrille" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "variole" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vrille" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #158,363 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "variole" and "vrille" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "variole vs various". 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 #158,363 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.