Which to use
“chère” and “chérie” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,764
- “chère” frequency rank
- #4,921
- “chérie” frequency rank
- 7685
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chère | chérie |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne considérée comme chère, qui est tenu avec une affectueuse haute estime ou, par ironie, à qui est adressée une forme de dédain. | Terme affectueux par lequel on s'adresse à la femme qu'on aime. |
Where the eye mixes chère and chérie
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chère with chérie
A purely visual mix-up. chère (\ʃɛʁ\) and chérie (\ʃe.ʁi\) 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 7685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chère is recorded at frequency rank #2,764, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛʁ\. chérie is at rank #4,921, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃe.ʁi\.
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 7685, this pair ranks #422,449 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chère vs chérie
Shared letters: cehr. Private to "chère": è. Private to "chérie": ié.
"chère" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "chérie" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chère" for "chérie" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "chère" or "chérie" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chérie" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,449 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chère" and "chérie" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "charrie vs chérie". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #422,449 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.