Which to use
“cher” is an adjective and “clé” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #682
- “cher” frequency rank
- #1,987
- “clé” frequency rank
- 2669
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cher | clé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est chéri, tendrement aimé, auquel on tient beaucoup. | Instrument de métal que l’on introduit dans une serrure pour ouvrir ou fermer un accès. Ancienne clé à panneton que l'on place et fait tourner dans la serrure d'une porte, d'un coffre, etc. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set cher and clé apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
cher and clé form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 2669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cher is recorded at frequency rank #682, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʃɛʁ\. clé is at rank #1,987, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kle\.
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 2669, this pair ranks #435,687 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cher" and "clé" be used interchangeably?
Remembering cher vs clé
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “cher”; for a noun, it's “clé”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “cher” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable