CHvscruConfusable pair

Quick tell: CH is a symbol, cru is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“CH” is a symbol and “cru” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#3,389
“CH” frequency rank
#1,326
“cru” frequency rank
4715
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature CH cru
Definition Signe distinctif en trafic international des véhicules automobiles immatriculés en Suisse, prescrit dans le cadre de la Convention sur la circulation routière de Genève de 1949 et de la Convention sur la signalisation routière de Vienne de 1968. Qui n’est pas cuit.

Where the eye mixes CH and cru

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

2 ch
CH
3 ch
cru

Look-alike desk: CH vs cru

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: CH is voir ces lettres. En français, cela donne while cru is \kʁy\. 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 (symbol vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 4715, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

CH is recorded at frequency rank #3,389, classified as asymbol, pronounced voir ces lettres. En français, cela donne. cru is at rank #1,326, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kʁy\.

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 4715, this pair ranks #430,893 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of CH vs cru

Shared letters: c. Private to "CH": h. Private to "cru": ru.

"CH" · 2 letters · shape CC  ·  "cru" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "CH" for "cru" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "CH" is a symbol and "cru" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "CH" or "cru"?
"cru" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,326 in our French list, against #3,389 for "CH". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "CH" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cru" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #430,893 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "CH" and "cru" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs CH". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #430,893 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list