Which to use
“vêtir” and “vexer” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,330
- “vêtir” frequency rank
- #24,431
- “vexer” frequency rank
- 59761
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vêtir | vexer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Habiller, couvrir d’un vêtement. | Tourmenter par abus de pouvoir ; opprimer ; persécuter. |
Where the eye mixes vêtir and vexer
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. vêtir and vexer follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: vêtir vs vexer
A purely visual mix-up. vêtir (\vɛ.tiʁ\) and vexer (\vɛk.se\) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59761, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vêtir is recorded at frequency rank #35,330, classified as averb, pronounced \vɛ.tiʁ\. vexer is at rank #24,431, tagged as averb, pronounced \vɛk.se\.
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 59761, this pair ranks #101,336 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of vêtir vs vexer
Shared letters: rv. Private to "vêtir": itê. Private to "vexer": ex.
"vêtir" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "vexer" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vexer ← evxer · veexr · vexerr · vexre · vexxer · vvexer · vxeer
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vêtir" and "vexer" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "vêtir" vs "vexer" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "vêtir" and "vexer" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vêtir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vexer" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #101,336 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vêtir" and "vexer" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vêtir vs vir". 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 #101,336 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.