Which to use
“chiffre” is a noun and “chiffrer” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,946
- “chiffre” frequency rank
- #24,900
- “chiffrer” frequency rank
- 26846
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chiffre | chiffrer |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Caractère utilisé pour écrire les nombres. Par analogie avec les mots, on peut dire que les chiffres constituent l’alphabet des nombres. | Se servir des chiffres pour calculer. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chiffre and chiffrer apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chiffre is \ʃifʁ\ while chiffrer is \ʃi.fʁe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “chiffre” sits inside “chiffrer”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26846, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chiffre is recorded at frequency rank #1,946, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃifʁ\. chiffrer is at rank #24,900, tagged as averb, pronounced \ʃi.fʁe\.
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 26846, this pair ranks #332,500 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chiffre vs chiffrer
Shared letters: cefhir. Private to "chiffre": -. Private to "chiffrer": -.
"chiffre" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCCV · "chiffrer" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chiffre" and "chiffrer" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "chiffre" or "chiffrer"?
Remembering chiffre vs chiffrer
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chiffre”; for a verb, it's “chiffrer”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chiffre” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable