vieillirvsvieillitWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“vieillir” and “vieillit” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#14,821
“vieillir” frequency rank
#20,887
“vieillit” frequency rank
35708
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vieillir vieillit
Definition Devenir vieux. Troisième personne du singulier de l’indicatif présent de vieillir.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vieillir and vieillit apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch
vieillir
8 ch
vieillit

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. vieillir (\vje.jiʁ\) and vieillit (\vjɛ.ji\) 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 a single letter - r in “vieillir” becomes t in “vieillit”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35708, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vieillir is recorded at frequency rank #14,821, classified as averb, pronounced \vje.jiʁ\. vieillit is at rank #20,887, tagged as averb, pronounced \vjɛ.ji\.

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 35708, this pair ranks #274,815 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of vieillir vs vieillit

Shared letters: eilv. Private to "vieillir": r. Private to "vieillit": t.

"vieillir" · 8 letters · shape CVVVCCVC  ·  "vieillit" · 8 letters · shape CVVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vieilliriveillir · veiillir · vieililr · vieilir · vieillirr · vieillri · vielilir · viiellir
  • vieillitiveillit · veiillit · vieililt · vieilit · vieillitt · vieillti · vielilit · viiellit

Frequency comparison

vieillir#14,821
vieillit#20,887

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vieillir" and "vieillit" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\vje.jiʁ\ versus \vjɛ.ji\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "vieillir" or "vieillit"?
"vieillir" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #14,821 in our French list, against #20,887 for "vieillit". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vieillir vs vieillit

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vieillir” 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