chérir
\ʃe.ʁiʁ\
The verdict
“chérir” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #40,183 in French word frequency and used as a verb.
- #40,183
- frequency rank, French
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 19
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Aimer tendrement.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | chérir |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | \ʃe.ʁiʁ\ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #40,183 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 19 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chérir” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for chérir is 6 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ʃe.ʁiʁ\. Corpus data places it at rank #40,183 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for chérir, with forms such as "cchérir", "cherir", and "chhérir". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 19 confusable-pair relationships, "Chris", "chers", "choir", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct French form is chérir, spelled C-H-É-R-I-R.
Definition
- 1Aimer tendrement.
- 2Être tendrement attaché à ; se complaire dans.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cchérir,cherir,chhérir,chréir,chéirr,chérirr,chérrir,céhrir,hcérir
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chérir - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "chérir"?
What does "chérir" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "chérir"?
How do you pronounce "chérir"?
What language does "chérir" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “chérir”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is C-H-É-R-I-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ʃe.ʁiʁ\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Chris” - see the side-by-side comparison. chérir vs Chris
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.