chairvschaseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“chair” and “chase” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#45,197
“chair” frequency rank
#20,547
“chase” frequency rank
65744
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chair chase
Definition Sitzgelegenheit; Sessel, Sitz, Stuhl die Jagd, die Hetzjagd

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
chair
5 ch
chase

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chair ([tʃeə]) and chase ([tʃeɪs]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 65744, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chair is recorded at frequency rank #45,197, classified as anoun, pronounced [tʃeə]. chase is at rank #20,547, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tʃeɪs].

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 65744, this pair ranks #596,525 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chair vs chase

Shared letters: ach. Private to "chair": ir. Private to "chase": es.

"chair" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "chase" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chaircahir · cchair · chairr · chari · chhair · chiar · hcair
  • chasecchase · chaes · chasse · chhase · chsae · hcase

Frequency comparison

chair#45,197
chase#20,547

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chair" and "chase" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([tʃeə] versus [tʃeɪs]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chair" or "chase"?
"chase" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,547 in our German list, against #45,197 for "chair". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chair vs chase

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chair” 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