Which to use
“cha” and “cri” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,331
- “cha” frequency rank
- #5,649
- “cri” frequency rank
- 17980
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cha | cri |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vingt-sixième lettre de l’alphabet cyrillique, ш. | Action de crier, son perçant ou puissant émis par la voix d’un être humain ou d’un animal. |
Where the eye mixes cha and cri
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cha with cri
A purely visual mix-up. cha (\ʃa\) and cri (\kʁi\) 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 17980, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cha is recorded at frequency rank #12,331, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃa\. cri is at rank #5,649, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁi\.
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 17980, this pair ranks #380,558 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of cha vs cri
Shared letters: c. Private to "cha": ah. Private to "cri": ir.
"cha" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "cri" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cha" for "cri" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "cha" or "cri" show up more?
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 "cha" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #380,558 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cha" and "cri" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs cha". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #380,558 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.