Which to use
“chars” and “CRS” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,971
- “chars” frequency rank
- #12,348
- “CRS” frequency rank
- 21319
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chars | CRS |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de char. | Variante orthographique de C.R.S. |
Where the eye mixes chars and CRS
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chars with CRS
A purely visual mix-up. chars (\ʃaʁ\) and CRS (\se.ɛ.ʁɛs\) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21319, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chars is recorded at frequency rank #8,971, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃaʁ\. CRS is at rank #12,348, tagged as anoun, pronounced \se.ɛ.ʁɛs\.
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 21319, this pair ranks #363,779 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chars vs CRS
Shared letters: crs. Private to "chars": ah. Private to "CRS": -.
"chars" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "CRS" · 3 letters · shape CCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- chars ← cahrs · cchars · charrs · charss · chasr · chhars · chras · hcars
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chars" for "CRS" ever safe?
Frequency check: "chars" vs "CRS" - which ranks higher?
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 "chars" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "CRS" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #363,779 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chars" and "CRS" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ciro vs CRS". 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 #363,779 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.