chèvresvschevronsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#13,540
“chèvres” frequency rank
#34,931
“chevrons” frequency rank
48471
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chèvres chevrons
Definition Pluriel de chèvre. Pluriel de chevron.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chèvres and chevrons apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
chèvres
8 ch
chevrons

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chèvres (\ʃɛvʁ\) and chevrons (\ʃə.vʁɔ̃\) 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 48471, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chèvres is recorded at frequency rank #13,540, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃɛvʁ\. chevrons is at rank #34,931, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃə.vʁɔ̃\.

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 48471, this pair ranks #178,636 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chèvres vs chevrons

Shared letters: cehrsv. Private to "chèvres": è. Private to "chevrons": no.

"chèvres" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC  ·  "chevrons" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chevronscchevrons · cehvrons · chervons · chevorns · chevrnos · chevronns · chevronss · chevrosn

Frequency comparison

chèvres#13,540
chevrons#34,931

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chèvres" and "chevrons" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʃɛvʁ\ versus \ʃə.vʁɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chèvres" or "chevrons"?
"chèvres" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #13,540 in our French list, against #34,931 for "chevrons". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chèvres vs chevrons

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 “chèvres” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list