Which to use
“chai” and “char” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,430
- “chai” frequency rank
- #31,983
- “char” frequency rank
- 69413
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chai | char |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gefäß für Flüssigkeiten oder Ähnliches; Flasche | Fuder, Fuhre, Karren, Wagen, Fuhrwerk, Förderwagen, Hund, Hunt, Laufkatze |
Where the eye mixes chai and char
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: chai vs char
A purely visual mix-up. chai ([t͡ɕaːj˧˧]) and char ([ʃaʁ]) 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 - i in “chai” becomes r in “char”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69413, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chai is recorded at frequency rank #37,430, classified as anoun, pronounced [t͡ɕaːj˧˧]. char is at rank #31,983, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃaʁ].
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 69413, this pair ranks #477,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chai vs char
Shared letters: ach. Private to "chai": i. Private to "char": r.
"chai" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "char" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chai" and "char" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "chai" vs "char" - which ranks higher?
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 "chai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "char" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #477,391 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chai" and "char" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chai vs clair". 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 #477,391 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.