Which to use
“chères” is an adjective and “chèvre” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,289
- “chères” frequency rank
- #8,214
- “chèvre” frequency rank
- 17503
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chères | chèvre |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de cher. | Genre de mammifère de l’ordre des ruminants, à cornes creuses et persistantes et à menton garni d’une barbe. |
Where the eye mixes chères and chèvre
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chères with chèvre
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chères is [ʃɛʁ] while chèvre is \ʃɛvʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17503, 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]. chèvre is at rank #8,214, 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 17503, this pair ranks #382,853 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chères vs chèvre
Shared letters: cehrè. Private to "chères": s. Private to "chèvre": v.
"chères" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "chèvre" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chères" and "chèvre" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "chères" or "chèvre" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "chères" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chèvre" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #382,853 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chères" and "chèvre" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chèvre vs chevreau". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #382,853 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.