Which to use
“chère” is a noun and “cuire” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,764
- “chère” frequency rank
- #7,947
- “cuire” frequency rank
- 10711
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chère | cuire |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne considérée comme chère, qui est tenu avec une affectueuse haute estime ou, par ironie, à qui est adressée une forme de dédain. | Préparer les aliments par le moyen du feu, de la chaleur, pour les rendre propres à être mangés. Devenir propre à être mangé ou propre à tel ou tel usage par le moyen du feu, de la chaleur. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chère and cuire apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chère is \ʃɛʁ\ while cuire is \kɥiʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10711, 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\. cuire is at rank #7,947, tagged as averb, pronounced \kɥiʁ\.
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 10711, this pair ranks #411,920 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chère vs cuire
Shared letters: cer. Private to "chère": hè. Private to "cuire": iu.
"chère" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "cuire" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- cuire ← ccuire · ciure · cuier · cuirre · ucire
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chère" and "cuire" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "chère" or "cuire"?
Remembering chère vs cuire
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chère”; for a verb, it's “cuire”.
- 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