Which to use
“chaine” is a noun and “chaque” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,060
- “chaine” frequency rank
- #210
- “chaque” frequency rank
- 6270
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chaine | chaque |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante orthographique de chaîne. | Déterminant distributif, qui se place toujours avant le nom et n’a pas de pluriel. Se dit d’une personne, d’une chose qui fait partie d’un tout, d’un ensemble. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chaine and chaque apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chaine is \ʃɛn\ while chaque is \ʃak\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6270, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chaine is recorded at frequency rank #6,060, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛn\. chaque is at rank #210, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʃak\.
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 6270, this pair ranks #426,698 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chaine vs chaque
Shared letters: aceh. Private to "chaine": in. Private to "chaque": qu.
"chaine" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "chaque" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chaine" and "chaque" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "chaine" or "chaque"?
Remembering chaine vs chaque
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chaine”; for an adjective, it's “chaque”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chaine” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable