vasesvsvesConfusable pair

Which to use

“vases” and “ves” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#18,359
“vases” frequency rank
#42,676
“ves” frequency rank
61035
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vases ves
Definition Pluriel de vase. Veuves.

Where the eye mixes vases and ves

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

5 ch
vases
3 ch
ves

Visual trap between vases and ves

A purely visual mix-up. vases (\vaz\) and ves (\vœv\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61035, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vases is recorded at frequency rank #18,359, classified as anoun, pronounced \vaz\. ves is at rank #42,676, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vœv\.

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 61035, this pair ranks #94,427 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vases vs ves

Shared letters: esv. Private to "vases": a. Private to "ves": -.

"vases" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "ves" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vasesavses · vaess · vasess · vasses · vsaes · vvases

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "vases" for "ves" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\vaz\ versus \vœv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "vases" vs "ves" - which ranks higher?
"vases" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,359 in our French list, against #42,676 for "ves". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vases" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "ves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #94,427 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vases" and "ves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ves vs viv". 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 #94,427 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list