Which to use
“chiffres” and “chimères” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,434
- “chiffres” frequency rank
- #30,519
- “chimères” frequency rank
- 31953
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chiffres | chimères |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de chiffre. | Pluriel de chimère. |
Where the eye mixes chiffres and chimères
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. chiffres (CCVCCCVC) and chimères (CCVCVCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between chiffres and chimères
A purely visual mix-up. chiffres (\ʃifʁ\) and chimères (\ʃi.mɛʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31953, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chiffres is recorded at frequency rank #1,434, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃifʁ\. chimères is at rank #30,519, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃi.mɛʁ\.
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 31953, this pair ranks #300,516 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chiffres vs chimères
Shared letters: cehirs. Private to "chiffres": f. Private to "chimères": mè.
"chiffres" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCCVC · "chimères" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- chiffres ← cchiffres · chfifres · chhiffres · chiffers · chiffress · chiffrres · chiffrse · chifres
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chiffres" and "chimères" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "chiffres" or "chimères" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chiffres" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chimères" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,516 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chiffres" and "chimères" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chimère vs chimères". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #300,516 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.