Which to use
“veille” and “vrille” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,203
- “veille” frequency rank
- #24,077
- “vrille” frequency rank
- 26280
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | veille | vrille |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | État du corps de l’homme ou de l’animal, dans lequel les sens sont en action. | 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 veille and vrille
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. veille (CVVCCV) and vrille (CCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses veille with vrille
A purely visual mix-up. veille (\vɛj\) 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 a single letter - e in “veille” becomes r in “vrille”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26280, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
veille is recorded at frequency rank #2,203, classified as anoun, pronounced \vɛj\. 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 26280, this pair ranks #336,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of veille vs vrille
Shared letters: eilv. Private to "veille": -. Private to "vrille": r.
"veille" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV · "vrille" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "veille" and "vrille" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "veille" or "vrille" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "veille" 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 #336,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "veille" and "vrille" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vile vs vrille". 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 #336,024 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.