Which to use
“veiller” is a verb and “vrille” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,908
- “veiller” frequency rank
- #24,077
- “vrille” frequency rank
- 30985
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | veiller | vrille |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | S’abstenir de dormir pendant le temps destiné au sommeil. | 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 veiller and vrille
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. veiller runs 7 letters (CVVCCVC) against vrille's 6 (CCVCCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: veiller vs vrille
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: veiller is \vɛ.je\ while vrille is \vʁij\. 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 (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30985, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
veiller is recorded at frequency rank #6,908, classified as averb, pronounced \vɛ.je\. 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 30985, this pair ranks #306,737 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of veiller vs vrille
Shared letters: eilrv. Private to "veiller": -. Private to "vrille": -.
"veiller" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC · "vrille" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "veiller" for "vrille" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "veiller" or "vrille" show up more?
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 "veiller" 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 #306,737 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "veiller" 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 #306,737 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.