Which to use
“vigile” is a noun and “virile” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,888
- “vigile” frequency rank
- #34,357
- “virile” frequency rank
- 55245
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vigile | virile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne (homme ou femme) chargée d’une fonction de surveillance, de sécurité, le plus souvent dans des locaux commerciaux, industriels (pour une femme, on dira aussi femme vigile). | Féminin singulier de viril. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vigile and virile apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vigile is \vi.ʒil\ while virile is \vi.ʁil\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - g in “vigile” becomes r in “virile”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55245, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vigile is recorded at frequency rank #20,888, classified as anoun, pronounced \vi.ʒil\. virile is at rank #34,357, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vi.ʁil\.
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 55245, this pair ranks #128,712 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vigile vs virile
Shared letters: eilv. Private to "vigile": g. Private to "virile": r.
"vigile" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV · "virile" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vigile" and "virile" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "vigile" or "virile"?
Remembering vigile vs virile
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “vigile”; for an adjective, it's “virile”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vigile” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable