Which to use
“chaises” and “chemises” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,130
- “chaises” frequency rank
- #11,539
- “chemises” frequency rank
- 20669
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chaises | chemises |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de chaise. | Pluriel de chemise. |
Where the eye mixes chaises and chemises
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chaises with chemises
A purely visual mix-up. chaises (\ʃɛz\) and chemises (\ʃə.miz\) 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 20669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chaises is recorded at frequency rank #9,130, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛz\. chemises is at rank #11,539, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃə.miz\.
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 20669, this pair ranks #367,112 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chaises vs chemises
Shared letters: cehis. Private to "chaises": a. Private to "chemises": m.
"chaises" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "chemises" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chaises" and "chemises" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "chaises" or "chemises"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chaises" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chemises" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #367,112 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chaises" and "chemises" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chaises vs chassées". 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 #367,112 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.