Which to use
“chais” and “chaux” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,299
- “chais” frequency rank
- #12,530
- “chaux” frequency rank
- 48829
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chais | chaux |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de chai (pièce). | Oxyde de calcium, alcalin fort, obtenu par la décarbonatation à haute température, durant un temps long, de roches calcaires (→ voir chaux vive). |
Where the eye mixes chais and chaux
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. chais and chaux follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Look-alike desk: chais vs chaux
A purely visual mix-up. chais (\ʃɛ\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48829, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chais is recorded at frequency rank #36,299, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛ\. 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 48829, this pair ranks #175,719 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chais vs chaux
Shared letters: ach. Private to "chais": is. Private to "chaux": ux.
"chais" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "chaux" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "chais" and "chaux" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "chais" or "chaux" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chais" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chaux" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #175,719 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chais" and "chaux" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chah vs chais". 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 #175,719 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.