chichevsclichésWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#27,367
“chiche” frequency rank
#6,477
“clichés” frequency rank
33844
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chiche clichés
Definition Qui répugne à dépenser ce qu’il faudrait. Masculin pluriel de cliché.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
chiche
7 ch
clichés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chiche (\ʃiʃ\) and clichés (\kli.ʃe\) 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 33844, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chiche is recorded at frequency rank #27,367, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʃiʃ\. clichés is at rank #6,477, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kli.ʃe\.

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 33844, this pair ranks #287,897 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chiche vs clichés

Shared letters: chi. Private to "chiche": e. Private to "clichés": lsé.

"chiche" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "clichés" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chichecchiche · chcihe · chhiche · chicche · chiceh · chichhe · chihce · cihche

Frequency comparison

chiche#27,367
clichés#6,477

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chiche" and "clichés" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʃiʃ\ versus \kli.ʃe\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chiche" or "clichés"?
"clichés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,477 in our French list, against #27,367 for "chiche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chiche vs clichés

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 “chiche” 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