Which to use
“vertige” and “vestiges” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,034
- “vertige” frequency rank
- #10,605
- “vestiges” frequency rank
- 26639
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vertige | vestiges |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tournoiement de tête, indisposition dans laquelle il semble que tout tourne. | Pluriel de vestige. |
Where the eye mixes vertige and vestiges
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vertige runs 7 letters (CVCCVCV) against vestiges's 8 (CVCCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: vertige vs vestiges
A purely visual mix-up. vertige (\vɛʁ.tiʒ\) and vestiges (\vɛs.tiʒ\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26639, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vertige is recorded at frequency rank #16,034, classified as anoun, pronounced \vɛʁ.tiʒ\. vestiges is at rank #10,605, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vɛs.tiʒ\.
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 26639, this pair ranks #333,737 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of vertige vs vestiges
Shared letters: egitv. Private to "vertige": r. Private to "vestiges": s.
"vertige" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCV · "vestiges" · 8 letters · shape CVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vertige" for "vestiges" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "vertige" or "vestiges" show up more?
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 "vertige" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vestiges" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #333,737 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vertige" and "vestiges" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vertige vs voltige". 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 #333,737 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.