chiervschipsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: chier is a verb, chips is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chier” is a verb and “chips” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,945
“chier” frequency rank
#11,366
“chips” frequency rank
13311
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chier chips
Definition Déféquer. Très fine tranche de pommes de terre frite dans l’huile, saupoudrée légèrement de sel ou assaisonnée.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chier and chips apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
chier
5 ch
chips

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

chier and chips form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13311, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chier is recorded at frequency rank #1,945, classified as averb, pronounced \ʃje\. chips is at rank #11,366, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃips\.

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 13311, this pair ranks #401,521 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

chier#1,945
chips#11,366

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chier" and "chips" be used interchangeably?
No, "chier" and "chips" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering chier vs chips

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “chier”; for a noun, it's “chips”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chier” 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