Which to use
“cheque” and “cirque” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #15,124
- “cheque” frequency rank
- #30,366
- “cirque” frequency rank
- 45490
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cheque | cirque |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A written order directing a bank to pay money to a person or entity. | A Roman circus. |
Where the eye mixes cheque and cirque
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cheque vs cirque
A purely visual mix-up. cheque (/t͡ʃɛk/) and cirque (/sɜːk/) 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 45490, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cheque is recorded at frequency rank #15,124, classified as anoun, pronounced /t͡ʃɛk/. cirque is at rank #30,366, tagged as anoun, pronounced /sɜːk/.
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 45490, this pair ranks #220,813 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cheque vs cirque
Shared letters: cequ. Private to "cheque": h. Private to "cirque": ir.
"cheque" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV · "cirque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cheque" and "cirque" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cheque" or "cirque"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cheque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cirque" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #220,813 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cheque" and "cirque" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cinque vs cirque". 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 #220,813 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.