Which to use
“chases” and “chives” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,745
- “chases” frequency rank
- #45,841
- “chives” frequency rank
- 67586
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chases | chives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of chase | plural of chive |
Where the eye mixes chases and chives
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. chases and chives follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: chases vs chives
A purely visual mix-up. chases (/ˈt͡ʃeɪsɪz/) and chives (/t͡ʃaɪvz/) 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 67586, 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/. chives is at rank #45,841, tagged as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃaɪvz/.
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 67586, this pair ranks #62,660 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chases vs chives
Shared letters: cehs. Private to "chases": a. Private to "chives": iv.
"chases" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chives" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chases" for "chives" ever safe?
Which is more common, "chases" or "chives"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "chases" and "chives" 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 "chives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #62,660 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chases" and "chives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chimed vs chives". 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 #62,660 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.