chagrinvschagrinsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“chagrin” and “chagrins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#9,286
“chagrin” frequency rank
#35,855
“chagrins” frequency rank
45141
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chagrin chagrins
Definition Qui éprouve du déplaisir, de la tristesse. Masculin pluriel de chagrin.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chagrin and chagrins apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
chagrin
8 ch
chagrins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

This is the hard kind. chagrin and chagrins are pronounced identically (\ʃa.ɡʁɛ̃\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “chagrin” sits inside “chagrins”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 45141, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chagrin is recorded at frequency rank #9,286, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʃa.ɡʁɛ̃\. chagrins is at rank #35,855, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʃa.ɡʁɛ̃\.

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 45141, this pair ranks #205,070 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chagrin vs chagrins

Shared letters: acghinr. Private to "chagrin": -. Private to "chagrins": s.

"chagrin" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "chagrins" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chagrincahgrin · cchagrin · chaggrin · chagirn · chagrinn · chagrni · chagrrin · chargin
  • chagrinscahgrins · cchagrins · chaggrins · chagirns · chagrinns · chagrinss · chagrisn · chagrnis

Frequency comparison

chagrin#9,286
chagrins#35,855

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chagrin" and "chagrins" be used interchangeably?
No. They are pronounced the same (\ʃa.ɡʁɛ̃\), which is exactly why they get swapped in writing, but the dictionary meanings above are different, and pronunciation is no guide here.
Which is more common, "chagrin" or "chagrins"?
"chagrin" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #9,286 in our French list, against #35,855 for "chagrins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chagrin vs chagrins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chagrin” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list