vesvsveuvesWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ves is a noun, veuves is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

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.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ves and veuves apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ves
6 ch
veuves

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

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

  • veuvesevuves · veuevs · veuvess · veuvse · veuvves · vevues · vueves · vveuves

Frequency comparison

ves#42,676
veuves#21,201

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ves" and "veuves" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ves" is a noun and "veuves" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ves" or "veuves"?
"veuves" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #21,201 in our French list, against #42,676 for "ves". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ves vs veuves

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “ves”; for an adjective, it's “veuves”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ves” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list