Which to use
“vice” and “vir” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,614
- “vice” frequency rank
- #46,521
- “vir” frequency rank
- 48135
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vice | vir |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Défaut, imperfection grave qui rend une chose plus ou moins impropre à sa destination. | Forme mutée de bir par adoucissement (b → v). |
Where the eye mixes vice and vir
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between vice and vir
A purely visual mix-up. vice (\vis\) and vir (\ˈviː.r\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48135, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vice is recorded at frequency rank #1,614, classified as anoun, pronounced \vis\. vir is at rank #46,521, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ˈviː.r\.
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 48135, this pair ranks #181,368 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vice vs vir
Shared letters: iv. Private to "vice": ce. Private to "vir": r.
"vice" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vir" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vice ← ivce · vcie · vicce · viec · vvice
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vice" and "vir" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "vice" vs "vir" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vice" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vir" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #181,368 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vice" and "vir" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vir vs viv". 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 #181,368 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.