Which to use
“chairs” and “chaise” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,754
- “chairs” frequency rank
- #4,133
- “chaise” frequency rank
- 40887
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chairs | chaise |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de chair. | Siège avec dossier, sans accoudoirs. |
Where the eye mixes chairs and chaise
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. chairs (CCVVCC) and chaise (CCVVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between chairs and chaise
A purely visual mix-up. chairs (\ʃɛʁ\) and chaise (\ʃɛz\) 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 40887, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chairs is recorded at frequency rank #36,754, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛʁ\. chaise is at rank #4,133, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛz\.
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 40887, this pair ranks #237,167 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chairs vs chaise
Shared letters: achis. Private to "chairs": r. Private to "chaise": e.
"chairs" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC · "chaise" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chairs" for "chaise" ever safe?
Which is more common, "chairs" or "chaise"?
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 "chairs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chaise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #237,167 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chairs" and "chaise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caïds vs chairs". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #237,167 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.