Which to use
“vilain” and “virgin” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,607
- “vilain” frequency rank
- #17,037
- “virgin” frequency rank
- 27644
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vilain | virgin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui déplaît à la vue. | Vierge, virginal. |
Where the eye mixes vilain and virgin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. vilain (CVCVVC) and virgin (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between vilain and virgin
A purely visual mix-up. vilain (\vi.lɛ̃\) and virgin (\ˈvɝ.dʒɪn\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27644, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vilain is recorded at frequency rank #10,607, classified as anadj, pronounced \vi.lɛ̃\. virgin is at rank #17,037, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ˈvɝ.dʒɪn\.
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 27644, this pair ranks #327,749 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vilain vs virgin
Shared letters: inv. Private to "vilain": al. Private to "virgin": gr.
"vilain" · 6 letters · shape CVCVVC · "virgin" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "vilain" and "virgin" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "vilain" vs "virgin" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vilain" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "virgin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #327,749 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vilain" and "virgin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vigan vs virgin". 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 #327,749 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.