Which to use
“vases” and “vires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,359
- “vases” frequency rank
- #43,722
- “vires” frequency rank
- 62081
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vases | vires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de vase. | Pluriel de vire. |
Where the eye mixes vases and vires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. vases and vires follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses vases with vires
A purely visual mix-up. vases (\vaz\) and vires (\viʁ\) 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 62081, 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\. vires is at rank #43,722, tagged as anoun, pronounced \viʁ\.
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 62081, this pair ranks #88,926 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of vases vs vires
Shared letters: esv. Private to "vases": a. Private to "vires": ir.
"vases" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "vires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vases" and "vires" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "vases" vs "vires" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
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 "vires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #88,926 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vases" and "vires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "virées vs vires". 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 #88,926 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.