Which to use
“viols” and “virus” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,324
- “viols” frequency rank
- #3,114
- “virus” frequency rank
- 14438
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | viols | virus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de viol. | Entité biologique qui nécessite une cellule hôte, dont il utilise les constituants pour se multiplier. |
Where the eye mixes viols and virus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. viols (CVVCC) and virus (CVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: viols vs virus
A purely visual mix-up. viols (\vjɔl\) and virus (\vi.ʁys\) 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 14438, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
viols is recorded at frequency rank #11,324, classified as anoun, pronounced \vjɔl\. virus is at rank #3,114, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vi.ʁys\.
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 14438, this pair ranks #396,652 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of viols vs virus
Shared letters: isv. Private to "viols": lo. Private to "virus": ru.
"viols" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "virus" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "viols" and "virus" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "viols" vs "virus" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "viols" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "virus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,652 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "viols" and "virus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "vial vs viols". 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 #396,652 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.