voilàvsvoixWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: voilà is a verb, voix is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“voilà” is a verb and “voix” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#458
“voilà” frequency rank
#499
“voix” frequency rank
957
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature voilà voix
Definition Utilisé pour désigner une personne, une chose ou une action, ou pour y faire référence. Ensemble de sons produits par les cordes vocales.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
voilà
4 ch
voix

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

voilà and voix 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 957, 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\. voix is at rank #499, tagged as anoun, pronounced \vwa\.

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 957, this pair ranks #438,854 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

voilà#458
voix#499

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "voilà" and "voix" be used interchangeably?
No, "voilà" and "voix" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering voilà vs voix

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 “voix”.
  • 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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list