Which to use
“cédés” is a verb and “chères” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #33,204
- “cédés” frequency rank
- #9,289
- “chères” frequency rank
- 42493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cédés | chères |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé masculin pluriel du verbe céder. | Féminin pluriel de cher. |
Where the eye mixes cédés and chères
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. cédés runs 5 letters (CVCVC) against chères's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses cédés with chères
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: cédés is \se.de\ while chères is [ʃɛʁ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 42493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cédés is recorded at frequency rank #33,204, classified as averb, pronounced \se.de\. chères is at rank #9,289, tagged as anadj, 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 42493, this pair ranks #225,199 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cédés vs chères
Shared letters: cs. Private to "cédés": dé. Private to "chères": ehrè.
"cédés" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "chères" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cédés" for "chères" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cédés" or "chères"?
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 "cédés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chères" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #225,199 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cédés" and "chères" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cedar vs cédés". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #225,199 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.