Which to use
“cèdre” and “chère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,508
- “cèdre” frequency rank
- #2,764
- “chère” frequency rank
- 31272
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cèdre | chère |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Espèce d’arbre du genre Cedrus, conifère de grande taille de la famille des Pinacées, aux branches horizontales en plans superposés et à cônes globuleux et dressés, souvent utilisé pour l’ornementation et dont le bois passe pour incorruptible. | 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 cèdre and chère
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. cèdre (CVCCV) and chère (CCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: cèdre vs chère
A purely visual mix-up. cèdre (\sɛdʁ\) and chère (\ʃɛʁ\) 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 31272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cèdre is recorded at frequency rank #28,508, classified as anoun, pronounced \sɛdʁ\. 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 31272, this pair ranks #304,842 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cèdre vs chère
Shared letters: cerè. Private to "cèdre": d. Private to "chère": h.
"cèdre" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "chère" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cèdre" for "chère" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cèdre" or "chère"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "cèdre" and "chère" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cèdre" 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 #304,842 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cèdre" and "chère" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cedar vs cèdre". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #304,842 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.