Which to use
“vile” is an adjective and “vis” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,122
- “vile” frequency rank
- #993
- “vis” frequency rank
- 38115
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vile | vis |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin singulier de vil. | Pièce mécanique formée d’un corps qui comporte un filet de forme hélicoïdale et une tête où une empreinte permet d’appliquer un couple ; il en résulte un double mouvement de rotation et de translation. En mécanique, elles sont souvent employées avec des écrous pour former des boulons. |
Where the eye mixes vile and vis
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses vile with vis
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: vile is \vil\ while vis is \vis\. 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 38115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vile is recorded at frequency rank #37,122, classified as anadj, pronounced \vil\. vis is at rank #993, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vis\.
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 38115, this pair ranks #257,561 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of vile vs vis
Shared letters: iv. Private to "vile": el. Private to "vis": s.
"vile" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "vis" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- vile ← ivle · vlie · vvile
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "vile" for "vis" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "vile" or "vis" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "vile" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vis" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #257,561 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "vile" and "vis" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vile vs viv". 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 #257,561 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.