Which to use
“vieilles” is an adjective and “vigiles” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,391
- “vieilles” frequency rank
- #29,593
- “vigiles” frequency rank
- 33984
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vieilles | vigiles |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de vieux. | Pluriel de vigile. |
Where the eye mixes vieilles and vigiles
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. vieilles runs 8 letters (CVVVCCVC) against vigiles's 7 (CVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between vieilles and vigiles
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vieilles is \vjɛj\ while vigiles is \vi.ʒil\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33984, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vieilles is recorded at frequency rank #4,391, classified as anadj, pronounced \vjɛj\. vigiles is at rank #29,593, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vi.ʒil\.
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 33984, this pair ranks #286,935 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vieilles vs vigiles
Shared letters: eilsv. Private to "vieilles": -. Private to "vigiles": g.
"vieilles" · 8 letters · shape CVVVCCVC · "vigiles" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vieilles" and "vigiles" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "vieilles" or "vigiles"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "vieilles" and "vigiles" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "vieilles" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vigiles" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #286,935 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vieilles" and "vigiles" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vigiles vs virgules". 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 #286,935 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.