chahvschauxWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#47,782
“chah” frequency rank
#12,530
“chaux” frequency rank
60312
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chah chaux
Definition Titre des monarques de Perse, puis de l’Iran. Oxyde de calcium, alcalin fort, obtenu par la décarbonatation à haute température, durant un temps long, de roches calcaires (→ voir chaux vive).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chah and chaux apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
chah
5 ch
chaux

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chah (\ʃa\) and chaux (\ʃo\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chah is recorded at frequency rank #47,782, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃa\. chaux is at rank #12,530, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃo\.

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 60312, this pair ranks #98,269 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chah vs chaux

Shared letters: ach. Private to "chah": -. Private to "chaux": ux.

"chah" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "chaux" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chahcahh · cchah · chahh · chha · chhah · hcah
  • chauxcahux · cchaux · chauxx · chaxu · chhaux · chuax · hcaux

Frequency comparison

chah#47,782
chaux#12,530

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chah" and "chaux" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʃa\ versus \ʃo\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chah" or "chaux"?
"chaux" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,530 in our French list, against #47,782 for "chah". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chah vs chaux

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 “chah” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list