chèrevschèvresWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“chère” and “chèvres” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,764
“chère” frequency rank
#13,540
“chèvres” frequency rank
16304
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chère chèvres
Definition Personne considérée comme chère, qui est tenu avec une affectueuse haute estime ou, par ironie, à qui est adressée une forme de dédain. Pluriel de chèvre.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chère and chèvres apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
chère
7 ch
chèvres

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chère (\ʃɛʁ\) and chèvres (\ʃɛvʁ\) 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 16304, 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\. chèvres is at rank #13,540, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛvʁ\.

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 16304, this pair ranks #388,434 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of chère vs chèvres

Shared letters: cehrè. Private to "chère": -. Private to "chèvres": sv.

"chère" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "chèvres" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Frequency comparison

chère#2,764
chèvres#13,540

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chère" and "chèvres" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʃɛʁ\ versus \ʃɛvʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chère" or "chèvres"?
"chère" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,764 in our French list, against #13,540 for "chèvres". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chère vs chèvres

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chère” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list