Which to use
“vase” and “vice” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,099
- “vase” frequency rank
- #1,614
- “vice” frequency rank
- 11713
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vase | vice |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Bourbe, limon qui se dépose au fond de la mer, des fleuves, des étangs, etc. | Défaut, imperfection grave qui rend une chose plus ou moins impropre à sa destination. |
Where the eye mixes vase and vice
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: vase vs vice
A purely visual mix-up. vase (\vɑz\) and vice (\vis\) 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 11713, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vase is recorded at frequency rank #10,099, classified as anoun, pronounced \vɑz\. vice is at rank #1,614, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vis\.
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 11713, this pair ranks #408,129 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vase vs vice
Shared letters: ev. Private to "vase": as. Private to "vice": ci.
"vase" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vice" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vase" and "vice" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "vase" vs "vice" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "vase" and "vice" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vase" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vice" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #408,129 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vase" and "vice" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vase vs Voss". 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 #408,129 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.