Which to use
“chagrin” and “chain” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #34,427
- “chagrin” frequency rank
- #2,244
- “chain” frequency rank
- 36671
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chagrin | chain |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Distress of mind caused by a failure of aims or plans, want of appreciation, mistakes etc; vexation or mortification. | A series of interconnected rings or links usually made of metal. |
Where the eye mixes chagrin and chain
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. chagrin runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against chain's 5 (CCVVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: chagrin vs chain
A purely visual mix-up. chagrin (/ˈʃaɡ.ɹɪn/) and chain (/ˈt͡ʃeɪn/) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36671, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chagrin is recorded at frequency rank #34,427, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃaɡ.ɹɪn/. chain is at rank #2,244, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈt͡ʃeɪn/.
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 36671, this pair ranks #301,172 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chagrin vs chain
Shared letters: achin. Private to "chagrin": gr. Private to "chain": -.
"chagrin" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "chain" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chagrin" for "chain" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "chagrin" or "chain" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chagrin" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chain" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #301,172 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chagrin" and "chain" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chagrin vs Chapin". 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 #301,172 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.