Which to use
“chères” and “chéri” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #9,289
- “chères” frequency rank
- #6,062
- “chéri” frequency rank
- 15351
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chères | chéri |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de cher. | Sincèrement aimé. |
Where the eye mixes chères and chéri
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. chères runs 6 letters (CCVCVC) against chéri's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: chères vs chéri
A purely visual mix-up. chères ([ʃɛʁ]) and chéri (\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 15351, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chères is recorded at frequency rank #9,289, classified as anadj, pronounced [ʃɛʁ]. chéri is at rank #6,062, tagged as anadj, 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 15351, this pair ranks #392,744 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chères vs chéri
Shared letters: chr. Private to "chères": esè. Private to "chéri": ié.
"chères" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chéri" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chères" and "chéri" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "chères" or "chéri" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "chères" and "chéri" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "chères" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chéri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #392,744 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chères" and "chéri" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cheney vs chères". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #392,744 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.