Which to use
“vers” and “vire” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #185
- “vers” frequency rank
- #9,094
- “vire” frequency rank
- 9279
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vers | vire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Suite de mots rythmés selon la quantité, l’accentuation, le nombre des syllabes ou le retour de la rime. | Étroite plate-forme ou corniche sur les flancs d’une paroi rocheuse, sentier serpentant le long d’une montagne. |
Where the eye mixes vers and vire
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between vers and vire
A purely visual mix-up. vers (\vɛʁ\) and vire (\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 9279, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vers is recorded at frequency rank #185, classified as anoun, pronounced \vɛʁ\. vire is at rank #9,094, 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 9279, this pair ranks #417,212 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vers vs vire
Shared letters: erv. Private to "vers": s. Private to "vire": i.
"vers" · 4 letters · shape CVCC · "vire" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vers" for "vire" ever safe?
Which is more common, "vers" or "vire"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vers" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vire" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #417,212 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vers" and "vire" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vire vs viv". 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 #417,212 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.