Which to use
“chaff” and “chase” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,242
- “chaff” frequency rank
- #3,354
- “chase” frequency rank
- 42596
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chaff | chase |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The inedible parts of a grain-producing plant. | The act of one who chases another; a pursuit. |
Where the eye mixes chaff and chase
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between chaff and chase
A purely visual mix-up. chaff (/t͡ʃæf/) and chase (/t͡ʃeɪs/) 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 42596, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chaff is recorded at frequency rank #39,242, classified as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃæf/. chase is at rank #3,354, tagged as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃeɪs/.
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 42596, this pair ranks #247,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chaff vs chase
Shared letters: ach. Private to "chaff": f. Private to "chase": es.
"chaff" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "chase" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "chaff" and "chase" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "chaff" vs "chase" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chaff" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chase" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #247,736 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chaff" and "chase" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chaff vs Chaim". 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 #247,736 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.