chérisvschersWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“chéris” and “chers” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#25,925
“chéris” frequency rank
#3,521
“chers” frequency rank
29446
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chéris chers
Definition Masculin pluriel de chéri. Masculin pluriel de cher.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chéris and chers apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
chéris
5 ch
chers

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chéris (\ʃe.ʁi\) and chers ([ʃɛʁ]) 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 29446, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chéris is recorded at frequency rank #25,925, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʃe.ʁi\. chers is at rank #3,521, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ʃɛʁ].

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 29446, this pair ranks #316,610 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chéris vs chers

Shared letters: chrs. Private to "chéris": . Private to "chers": e.

"chéris" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC  ·  "chers" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cherscchers · cehrs · cherrs · cherss · chesr · chhers · chres · hcers

Frequency comparison

chéris#25,925
chers#3,521

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chéris" and "chers" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʃe.ʁi\ versus [ʃɛʁ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chéris" or "chers"?
"chers" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,521 in our French list, against #25,925 for "chéris". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chéris vs chers

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chéris” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list