vil vs vom, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“vil” is an adjective and “vom” is a preposition - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,730
“vil” frequency rank: #47,100
“vom” frequency rank: 70830
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	vil	vom
Definition	Qui est bas, abject, méprisable.	Contraction de von dem: du..

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vil and vom apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

vil

3 ch

vom

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vil is \vil\ while vom is \fɔm\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs preposition), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vil is recorded at frequency rank #23,730, classified as anadj, pronounced \vil\. vom is at rank #47,100, tagged as aprep, pronounced \fɔm\.

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 70830, this pair ranks #49,827 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of vil vs vom

Shared letters: v. Private to "vil": il. Private to "vom": mo.

"vil" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "vom" · 3 letters · shape CVC

Frequency comparison

vil#23,730

vom#47,100

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vil" and "vom" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "vil" is an adjective and "vom" a preposition, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "vil" or "vom"?

"vil" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,730 in our French list, against #47,100 for "vom". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering vil vs vom

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “vil”; for a preposition, it's “vom”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vil” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable