Which to use
“vi” is a name and “voy” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,812
- “vi” frequency rank
- #48,860
- “voy” frequency rank
- 52672
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vi | voy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Éditeur de texte minimaliste créé en 1976 par Bill Joy, n’utilisant que le clavier, et modal : l’effet de la pression sur une touche du clavier dépend du mode dans lequel on se trouve (mode insertion ou mode commande). | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif du verbe irrégulier ir (« aller »). |
Where the eye mixes vi and voy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: vi vs voy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vi is \vi.aj\ while voy is \ˈboj\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (name vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 52672, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vi is recorded at frequency rank #3,812, classified as aname, pronounced \vi.aj\. voy is at rank #48,860, tagged as averb, pronounced \ˈboj\.
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 52672, this pair ranks #146,059 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vi vs voy
Shared letters: v. Private to "vi": i. Private to "voy": oy.
"vi" · 2 letters · shape CV · "voy" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vi" and "voy" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "vi" or "voy"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vi" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "voy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #146,059 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vi" and "voy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "viv vs voy". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #146,059 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.