videsvsviresWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: vides is a adjective, vires is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“vides” is an adjective and “vires” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#6,253
“vides” frequency rank
#43,722
“vires” frequency rank
49975
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vides vires
Definition Pluriel de vide. Pluriel de vire.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vides and vires apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
vides
5 ch
vires

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vides is \vid\ while vires is \viʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - d in “vides” becomes r in “vires”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49975, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vides is recorded at frequency rank #6,253, classified as anadj, pronounced \vid\. vires is at rank #43,722, tagged as anoun, pronounced \viʁ\.

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 49975, this pair ranks #166,337 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vides vs vires

Shared letters: eisv. Private to "vides": d. Private to "vires": r.

"vides" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC  ·  "vires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • videsivdes · vdies · viddes · videss · vidse · vieds · vvides
  • viresviers · viress · virres · virse · vries

Frequency comparison

vides#6,253
vires#43,722

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vides" and "vires" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vides" is an adjective and "vires" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "vides" or "vires"?
"vides" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,253 in our French list, against #43,722 for "vires". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vides vs vires

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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