chèrevschuteWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#2,764
“chère” frequency rank
#1,904
“chute” frequency rank
4668
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chère chute
Definition Personne considérée comme chère, qui est tenu avec une affectueuse haute estime ou, par ironie, à qui est adressée une forme de dédain. Fait de choir, de tomber ou de se détacher d’un tout ; le mouvement ou l’action correspondante.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chère and chute apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
chère
5 ch
chute

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chère (\ʃɛʁ\) and chute (\ʃyt\) 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 4668, 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\. chute is at rank #1,904, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃyt\.

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 4668, this pair ranks #431,004 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of chère vs chute

Shared letters: ceh. Private to "chère": . Private to "chute": tu.

"chère" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "chute" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chutecchute · chhute · chtue · chuet · chutte · cuhte · hcute

Frequency comparison

chère#2,764
chute#1,904

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chère" and "chute" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʃɛʁ\ versus \ʃyt\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chère" or "chute"?
"chute" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,904 in our French list, against #2,764 for "chère". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chère vs chute

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