Which to use
“carré” is an adjective and “chère” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,386
- “carré” frequency rank
- #2,764
- “chère” frequency rank
- 6150
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | carré | chère |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | En forme de rectangle dont les côtés sont tous égaux. | Personne considérée comme chère, qui est tenu avec une affectueuse haute estime ou, par ironie, à qui est adressée une forme de dédain. |
Where the eye mixes carré and chère
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: carré vs chère
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: carré is \ka.ʁe\ while chère is \ʃɛʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6150, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
carré is recorded at frequency rank #3,386, classified as anadj, pronounced \ka.ʁe\. chère is at rank #2,764, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛʁ\.
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 6150, this pair ranks #427,044 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of carré vs chère
Shared letters: cr. Private to "carré": aé. Private to "chère": ehè.
"carré" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "chère" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "carré" and "chère" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "carré" or "chère"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "carré" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chère" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,044 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "carré" and "chère" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carré vs carrez". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #427,044 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.