vesvsvidesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

“ves” is a noun and “vides” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#42,676
“ves” frequency rank
#6,253
“vides” frequency rank
48929
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ves vides
Definition Veuves. Pluriel de vide.

Where the spellings diverge

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

3 ch
ves
5 ch
vides

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ves is \vœv\ while vides is \vid\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48929, 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\. vides is at rank #6,253, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vid\.

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 48929, this pair ranks #174,924 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ves vs vides

Shared letters: esv. Private to "ves": -. Private to "vides": di.

"ves" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "vides" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • videsivdes · vdies · viddes · videss · vidse · vieds · vvides

Frequency comparison

ves#42,676
vides#6,253

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ves" and "vides" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ves" is a noun and "vides" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ves" or "vides"?
"vides" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,253 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 vides

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 “vides”.
  • 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