Which to use
“chases” and “chimes” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,745
- “chases” frequency rank
- #26,720
- “chimes” frequency rank
- 48465
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chases | chimes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of chase | plural of chime |
Where the eye mixes chases and chimes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. chases and chimes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses chases with chimes
A purely visual mix-up. chases (/ˈt͡ʃeɪsɪz/) and chimes (/t͡ʃaɪmz/) 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 48465, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chases is recorded at frequency rank #21,745, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈt͡ʃeɪsɪz/. chimes is at rank #26,720, tagged as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃaɪmz/.
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 48465, this pair ranks #192,837 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chases vs chimes
Shared letters: cehs. Private to "chases": a. Private to "chimes": im.
"chases" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chimes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chases" for "chimes" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "chases" or "chimes" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "chases" and "chimes" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "chases" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chimes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #192,837 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chases" and "chimes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chimes vs chums". 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 #192,837 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.