Which to use
“ves” is a noun and “veuves” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #42,676
- “ves” frequency rank
- #21,201
- “veuves” frequency rank
- 63877
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ves | veuves |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Veuves. | Féminin pluriel de l’adjectif veuf. |
Same sound, different letters: ves vs veuves
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters. ves runs 3 letters (CVC) against veuves's 6 (CVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - ves / veuves
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: ves and veuves carry the same recorded pronunciation, \vœv\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 3 extra letter(s) - “ves” sits inside “veuves”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63877, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ves is recorded at frequency rank #42,676, classified as anoun, pronounced \vœv\. veuves is at rank #21,201, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vœv\.
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 63877, this pair ranks #79,771 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of ves vs veuves
Shared letters: esv. Private to "ves": -. Private to "veuves": u.
"ves" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "veuves" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- veuves ← evuves · veuevs · veuvess · veuvse · veuvves · vevues · vueves · vveuves
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ves" for "veuves" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ves" vs "veuves" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "ves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "veuves" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #79,771 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ves" and "veuves" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ves 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 #79,771 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.