cancersvschancesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“cancers” and “chances” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,650
“cancers” frequency rank
#2,310
“chances” frequency rank
12960
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cancers chances
Definition Pluriel de cancer. Pluriel de chance.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cancers and chances apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
cancers
7 ch
chances

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. cancers (\kɑ̃.sɛʁ\) and chances (\ʃɑ̃s\) 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 5 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cancers is recorded at frequency rank #10,650, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɑ̃.sɛʁ\. chances is at rank #2,310, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃɑ̃s\.

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 12960, this pair ranks #403,009 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cancers vs chances

Shared letters: acens. Private to "cancers": r. Private to "chances": h.

"cancers" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "chances" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cancersacncers · cacners · canccers · cancerrs · cancerss · cancesr · cancres · canecrs
  • chancescahnces · cchances · chacnes · chancces · chancess · chancse · chanecs · channces

Frequency comparison

cancers#10,650
chances#2,310

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "cancers" and "chances" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɑ̃.sɛʁ\ versus \ʃɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "cancers" or "chances"?
"chances" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,310 in our French list, against #10,650 for "cancers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering cancers vs chances

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cancers” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list