vinvsvingtsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,383
“vin” frequency rank
#22,732
“vingts” frequency rank
24115
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature vin vingts
Definition Boisson alcoolique obtenue par fermentation du jus de raisin et connue depuis plusieurs millénaires. Pluriel de vingt. Note d’usage : Aujourd’hui il est utilisé seulement dans quatre-vingts, mais il était plus commun comme l’Hôpital des Quinze-Vingts à Paris.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vin and vingts apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
vin
6 ch
vingts

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. vin and vingts are pronounced identically (\vɛ̃\) and both work as anoun. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 3 extra letter(s) - “vin” sits inside “vingts”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24115, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

vin is recorded at frequency rank #1,383, classified as anoun, pronounced \vɛ̃\. vingts is at rank #22,732, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vɛ̃\.

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 24115, this pair ranks #348,518 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of vin vs vingts

Shared letters: inv. Private to "vin": -. Private to "vingts": gst.

"vin" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "vingts" · 6 letters · shape CVCCCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • vingtsivngts · vignts · vinggts · vingst · vingtss · vingtts · vinngts · vintgs

Frequency comparison

vin#1,383
vingts#22,732

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "vin" and "vingts" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\vɛ̃\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "vin" or "vingts"?
"vin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,383 in our French list, against #22,732 for "vingts". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering vin vs vingts

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 “vin” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list