Which to use
“vis” is a noun and “vous” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #993
- “vis” frequency rank
- #37
- “vous” frequency rank
- 1030
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | vis | vous |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | Pronom clitique ou tonique de la deuxième personne du pluriel sujet, lorsque l’interlocuteur s’adresse à plusieurs autres personnes. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set vis and vous apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
vis and vous form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1030, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
vis is recorded at frequency rank #993, classified as anoun, pronounced \vis\. vous is at rank #37, tagged as apron, pronounced \vu\.
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 1030, this pair ranks #438,740 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "vis" and "vous" be used interchangeably?
Remembering vis vs vous
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “vis”; for a pronoun, it's “vous”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “vis” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable