Which to use
“chères” is an adjective and “cyprès” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #9,289
- “chères” frequency rank
- #30,970
- “cyprès” frequency rank
- 40259
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chères | cyprès |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de cher. | Nom donné à des nombreuses espèces de conifères au feuillage persistant pouvant appartenir à plusieurs genres différent : principalement à Cupressus mais aussi à Chamaecyparis, Widdringtonia, Taxodium, Austrocedrus, etc. |
Where the eye mixes chères and cyprès
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. chères (CCVCVC) and cyprès (CVCCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses chères with cyprès
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chères is [ʃɛʁ] while cyprès is \si.pʁɛ\. 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 40259, 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]. cyprès is at rank #30,970, tagged as anoun, pronounced \si.pʁɛ\.
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 40259, this pair ranks #241,816 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chères vs cyprès
Shared letters: crsè. Private to "chères": eh. Private to "cyprès": py.
"chères" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "cyprès" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "chères" for "cyprès" ever safe?
Frequency check: "chères" vs "cyprès" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "chères" and "cyprès" 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 "cyprès" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #241,816 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chères" and "cyprès" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cèdres vs cyprès". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #241,816 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.