Which to use
“chère” and “chimère” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,764
- “chère” frequency rank
- #25,587
- “chimère” frequency rank
- 28351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chère | chimère |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne considérée comme chère, qui est tenu avec une affectueuse haute estime ou, par ironie, à qui est adressée une forme de dédain. | Figure imaginaire représentant un animal fabuleux à buste de lion à ventre de chèvre et à queue de serpent. |
Where the eye mixes chère and chimère
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. chère runs 5 letters (CCVCV) against chimère's 7 (CCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses chère with chimère
A purely visual mix-up. chère (\ʃɛʁ\) and chimère (\ʃi.mɛʁ\) 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 28351, 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\. chimère is at rank #25,587, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃi.mɛʁ\.
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 28351, this pair ranks #323,373 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chère vs chimère
Shared letters: cehrè. Private to "chère": -. Private to "chimère": im.
"chère" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "chimère" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chère" for "chimère" ever safe?
Frequency check: "chère" vs "chimère" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chère" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chimère" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #323,373 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chère" and "chimère" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chimère vs commère". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #323,373 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.