Which to use
“chemins” and “chemise” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,240
- “chemins” frequency rank
- #5,224
- “chemise” frequency rank
- 8464
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chemins | chemise |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de chemin. | Vêtement en linge ou en laine qu’on porte sur la chair, couvrant le buste et les bras. |
Where the eye mixes chemins and chemise
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. chemins (CCVCVCC) and chemise (CCVCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses chemins with chemise
A purely visual mix-up. chemins (\ʃə.mɛ̃\) and chemise (\ʃə.miz\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8464, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chemins is recorded at frequency rank #3,240, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃə.mɛ̃\. chemise is at rank #5,224, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃə.miz\.
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 8464, this pair ranks #419,935 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chemins vs chemise
Shared letters: cehims. Private to "chemins": n. Private to "chemise": -.
"chemins" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC · "chemise" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chemins" and "chemise" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "chemins" or "chemise"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chemins" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chemise" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #419,935 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chemins" and "chemise" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chemine vs chemise". 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 #419,935 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.