Which to use
“vends” is a verb and “vents” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,479
- “vends” frequency rank
- #5,202
- “vents” frequency rank
- 13681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vends | vents |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de vendre. | Dans un orchestre symphonique, section regroupant les instruments à vent. |
Same sound, different letters: vends vs vents
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters.
Same sound, different spelling - vends / vents
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: vends and vents carry the same recorded pronunciation, \vɑ̃\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by a single letter - d in “vends” becomes t in “vents”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vends is recorded at frequency rank #8,479, classified as averb, pronounced \vɑ̃\. vents is at rank #5,202, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vɑ̃\.
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 13681, this pair ranks #399,988 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vends vs vents
Shared letters: ensv. Private to "vends": d. Private to "vents": t.
"vends" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "vents" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vends" for "vents" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vends" or "vents"?
Useful next steps
"vends" and "vents" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "vends" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vents" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #399,988 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vends" and "vents" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vends 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 #399,988 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.