XVIevsXXIeConfusable pair

Which to use

“XVIe” and “XXIe” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,768
“XVIe” frequency rank
#13,298
“XXIe” frequency rank
23066
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature XVIe XXIe
Definition Seizième. Vingt-et-unième.

Where the eye mixes XVIe and XXIe

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. XVIe and XXIe follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

4 ch
XVIe
4 ch
XXIe

Why the eye confuses XVIe with XXIe

A purely visual mix-up. XVIe (\sɛ.zjɛm\) and XXIe (\vɛ̃.t‿e.y.njɛm\) 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 a single letter - v in “XVIe” becomes x in “XXIe”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23066, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

XVIe is recorded at frequency rank #9,768, classified as anadj, pronounced \sɛ.zjɛm\. XXIe is at rank #13,298, tagged as anadj, pronounced \vɛ̃.t‿e.y.njɛm\.

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 23066, this pair ranks #354,569 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of XVIe vs XXIe

Shared letters: eix. Private to "XVIe": v. Private to "XXIe": -.

"XVIe" · 4 letters · shape CCVV  ·  "XXIe" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • XVIevxie · xvei · xvvie · xxvie
  • XXIexixe · xxei

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "XVIe" and "XXIe" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\sɛ.zjɛm\ versus \vɛ̃.t‿e.y.njɛm\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "XVIe" vs "XXIe" - which ranks higher?
"XVIe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,768 in our French list, against #13,298 for "XXIe". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Eye-level mix-up between "XVIe" and "XXIe" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "XVIe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "XXIe" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #354,569 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "XVIe" and "XXIe" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "XXIe vs XXIème". 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 #354,569 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list