chapevschasteWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: chape is a noun, chaste is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chape” is a noun and “chaste” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#35,422
“chape” frequency rank
#42,791
“chaste” frequency rank
78213
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chape chaste
Definition Sorte de manteau long, sans plis et agrafé par devant, allant jusqu’aux talons, que portent l’évêque, le célébrant, les chantres, etc. durant l’office ; se dit aussi du grand manteau de drap ou de serge des chanoines. On nomme aussi ce vêtement un pluvial. Qui s'abstient des plaisirs de la chair.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chape and chaste apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
chape
6 ch
chaste

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chape is \ʃap\ while chaste is \ʃast\. 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 78213, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chape is recorded at frequency rank #35,422, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃap\. chaste is at rank #42,791, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʃast\.

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 78213, this pair ranks #26,333 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chape vs chaste

Shared letters: aceh. Private to "chape": p. Private to "chaste": st.

"chape" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "chaste" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chapecahpe · cchape · chappe · chhape · chpae · hcape
  • chastecahste · cchaste · chaset · chasste · chastte · chatse · chhaste · chsate

Frequency comparison

chape#35,422
chaste#42,791

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chape" and "chaste" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chape" is a noun and "chaste" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "chape" or "chaste"?
"chape" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #35,422 in our French list, against #42,791 for "chaste". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chape vs chaste

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chape”; for an adjective, it's “chaste”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chape” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list