Which to use
“virages” and “vires” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,429
- “virages” frequency rank
- #43,722
- “vires” frequency rank
- 63151
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | virages | vires |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de virage. | Pluriel de vire. |
Where the eye mixes virages and vires
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. virages runs 7 letters (CVCVCVC) against vires's 5 (CVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between virages and vires
A purely visual mix-up. virages (\vi.ʁaʒ\) and vires (\viʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63151, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
virages is recorded at frequency rank #19,429, classified as anoun, pronounced \vi.ʁaʒ\. vires is at rank #43,722, tagged as anoun, pronounced \viʁ\.
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 63151, this pair ranks #83,485 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of virages vs vires
Shared letters: eirsv. Private to "virages": ag. Private to "vires": -.
"virages" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC · "vires" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "virages" and "vires" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "virages" or "vires"?
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 "virages" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "vires" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #83,485 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "virages" and "vires" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "virées vs vires". 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 #83,485 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.