chancesvscréancesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“chances” and “créances” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,310
“chances” frequency rank
#14,900
“créances” frequency rank
17210
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chances créances
Definition Pluriel de chance. Pluriel de créance.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chances and créances apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
chances
8 ch
créances

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chances (\ʃɑ̃s\) and créances (\kʁe.ɑ̃s\) 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 17210, 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\. créances is at rank #14,900, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁe.ɑ̃s\.

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 17210, this pair ranks #384,264 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of chances vs créances

Shared letters: acens. Private to "chances": h. Private to "créances": .

"chances" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "créances" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chancescahnces · cchances · chacnes · chancces · chancess · chancse · chanecs · channces

Frequency comparison

chances#2,310
créances#14,900

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chances" and "créances" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʃɑ̃s\ versus \kʁe.ɑ̃s\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chances" or "créances"?
"chances" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,310 in our French list, against #14,900 for "créances". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chances vs créances

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chances” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list