veufvsvoueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: veuf is a adjective, voue is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“veuf” is an adjective and “voue” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#22,134
“veuf” frequency rank
#28,020
“voue” frequency rank
50154
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature veuf voue
Definition Qui est privé de. Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de vouer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set veuf and voue apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
veuf
4 ch
voue

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: veuf is \vœf\ while voue is \vu\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50154, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

veuf is recorded at frequency rank #22,134, classified as anadj, pronounced \vœf\. voue is at rank #28,020, tagged as averb, pronounced \vu\.

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 50154, this pair ranks #164,860 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of veuf vs voue

Shared letters: euv. Private to "veuf": f. Private to "voue": o.

"veuf" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "voue" · 4 letters · shape CVVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • veufevuf · vefu · veuff · vuef · vveuf
  • voueovue · voeu · vuoe · vvoue

Frequency comparison

veuf#22,134
voue#28,020

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "veuf" and "voue" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "veuf" is an adjective and "voue" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "veuf" or "voue"?
"veuf" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #22,134 in our French list, against #28,020 for "voue". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering veuf vs voue

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “veuf”; for a verb, it's “voue”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “veuf” 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