Which to use
“chères” is an adjective and “crêtes” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,289
- “chères” frequency rank
- #23,503
- “crêtes” frequency rank
- 32792
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chères | crêtes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de cher. | Pluriel de crête. |
Where the eye mixes chères and crêtes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. chères and crêtes follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses chères with crêtes
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chères is [ʃɛʁ] while crêtes is \kʁɛt\. 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 32792, 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]. crêtes is at rank #23,503, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁɛt\.
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 32792, this pair ranks #294,928 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chères vs crêtes
Shared letters: cers. Private to "chères": hè. Private to "crêtes": tê.
"chères" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "crêtes" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chères" for "crêtes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "chères" or "crêtes"?
Useful next steps
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 "crêtes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,928 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chères" and "crêtes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crêtes vs croûtes". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #294,928 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.