Which to use
“chelem” and “chère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,989
- “chelem” frequency rank
- #2,764
- “chère” frequency rank
- 16753
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chelem | chère |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Annonce par le preneur qu’il compte réaliser toutes les levées d’une partie (grand chelem) ou toutes moins une (petit chelem). | Personne considérée comme chère, qui est tenu avec une affectueuse haute estime ou, par ironie, à qui est adressée une forme de dédain. |
Where the eye mixes chelem and chère
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between chelem and chère
A purely visual mix-up. chelem (\ʃlɛm\) and chère (\ʃɛʁ\) 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 16753, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chelem is recorded at frequency rank #13,989, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃlɛm\. chère is at rank #2,764, tagged as anoun, 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 16753, this pair ranks #386,422 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chelem vs chère
Shared letters: ceh. Private to "chelem": lm. Private to "chère": rè.
"chelem" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chère" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- chelem ← cchelem · cehlem · cheelm · chelemm · chellem · chelme · chhelem · chleem
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chelem" for "chère" ever safe?
Frequency check: "chelem" vs "chère" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chelem" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chère" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #386,422 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chelem" and "chère" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chelem vs Cheney". 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 #386,422 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.