Which to use
“chances” is a noun and “crânes” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,310
- “chances” frequency rank
- #23,161
- “crânes” frequency rank
- 25471
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chances | crânes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de chance. | Pluriel de crâne. |
Where the eye mixes chances and crânes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. chances runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against crânes's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses chances with crânes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chances is \ʃɑ̃s\ while crânes is \kʁan\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chances is recorded at frequency rank #2,310, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɑ̃s\. crânes is at rank #23,161, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kʁan\.
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 25471, this pair ranks #340,664 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chances vs crânes
Shared letters: cens. Private to "chances": ah. Private to "crânes": râ.
"chances" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "crânes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- chances ← cahnces · cchances · chacnes · chancces · chancess · chancse · chanecs · channces
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chances" and "crânes" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "chances" vs "crânes" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chances" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crânes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #340,664 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chances" and "crânes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cakes vs crânes". 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 #340,664 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.