Which to use
“charges” is a noun and “chères” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,465
- “charges” frequency rank
- #9,289
- “chères” frequency rank
- 11754
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | charges | chères |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de charge. | Féminin pluriel de cher. |
Where the eye mixes charges and chères
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. charges runs 7 letters (CCVCCVC) against chères's 6 (CCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses charges with chères
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: charges is \ʃaʁʒ\ while chères is [ʃɛʁ]. 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 11754, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
charges is recorded at frequency rank #2,465, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃaʁʒ\. chères is at rank #9,289, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃɛʁ].
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 11754, this pair ranks #407,932 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of charges vs chères
Shared letters: cehrs. Private to "charges": ag. Private to "chères": è.
"charges" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "chères" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- charges ← cahrges · ccharges · chagres · charegs · chargess · chargges · chargse · charrges
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "charges" and "chères" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "charges" or "chères" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "charges" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chères" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #407,932 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "charges" and "chères" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cheney vs chères". 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 #407,932 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.