vialvsvilarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vial is a noun, vilar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vial” is a noun and “vilar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#49,425
“vial” frequency rank
#48,858
“vilar” frequency rank
98283
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vial vilar
Definition Petite fiole, en particulier quand elle contient un produit à analyser (surtout utilisé pour la chromatographie). Troisième personne du singulier du présent du verbe vilá (« détruire »).

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
vial
5 ch
vilar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vial is \vjal\ while vilar is \viˈlar\. 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 (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 98283, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vial is recorded at frequency rank #49,425, classified as anoun, pronounced \vjal\. vilar is at rank #48,858, tagged as averb, pronounced \viˈlar\.

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 98283, this pair ranks #156 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vial vs vilar

Shared letters: ailv. Private to "vial": -. Private to "vilar": r.

"vial" · 4 letters · shape CVVC  ·  "vilar" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vialival · viall · vvial
  • vilarivlar · vialr · vilarr · villar · vilra · vliar · vvilar

Frequency comparison

vial#49,425
vilar#48,858

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vial" and "vilar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vial" is a noun and "vilar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vial" or "vilar"?
"vilar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #48,858 in our French list, against #49,425 for "vial". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vial vs vilar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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