vécuesvsvicesConfusable pair

Quick tell: vécues is a adjective, vices is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vécues” is an adjective and “vices” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,734
“vécues” frequency rank
#16,506
“vices” frequency rank
40240
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vécues vices
Definition Féminin pluriel de vécu. Pluriel de vice.

Where the eye mixes vécues and vices

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

6 ch
vécues
5 ch
vices

Why the eye confuses vécues with vices

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vécues is \ve.ky\ while vices is \visəz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40240, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vécues is recorded at frequency rank #23,734, classified as anadj, pronounced \ve.ky\. vices is at rank #16,506, tagged as anoun, pronounced \visəz\.

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 40240, this pair ranks #241,975 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vécues vs vices

Shared letters: cesv. Private to "vécues": . Private to "vices": i.

"vécues" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC  ·  "vices" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vicesivces · vcies · vicces · vicess · vicse · viecs · vvices

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vécues" and "vices" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vécues" is an adjective and "vices" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "vécues" vs "vices" - which ranks higher?
"vices" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,506 in our French list, against #23,734 for "vécues". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "vécues" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "vices" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #241,975 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "vécues" and "vices" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vécues vs veufs". 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 #241,975 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