Which to use
“voilà” is a verb and “voile” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #458
- “voilà” frequency rank
- #2,653
- “voile” frequency rank
- 3111
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | voilà | voile |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Utilisé pour désigner une personne, une chose ou une action, ou pour y faire référence. | Large pièce de tissu assurant la propulsion des navires ou des moulins, par la force du vent. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set voilà and voile apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: voilà is \vwa.la\ while voile is \vwal\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - à in “voilà” becomes e in “voile”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3111, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
voilà is recorded at frequency rank #458, classified as averb, pronounced \vwa.la\. voile is at rank #2,653, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vwal\.
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 3111, this pair ranks #434,763 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of voilà vs voile
Shared letters: ilov. Private to "voilà": à. Private to "voile": e.
"voilà" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "voile" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- voile ← ovile · voiel · voille · volie · vvoile
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "voilà" and "voile" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "voilà" or "voile"?
Remembering voilà vs voile
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “voilà”; for a noun, it's “voile”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “voilà” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable