Which to use
“chose” and “chou” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #158
- “chose” frequency rank
- #6,171
- “chou” frequency rank
- 6329
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chose | chou |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Objet, idée ou abstraction quelconque, sans pouvoir, vouloir, ou devoir l’identifier ou la nommer. Note d’usage : La signification du mot chose se déduit par la manière dont on l’emploie dans la phrase, où il remplace ce qu’il n’est pas possible (ou pas souhaitable) de nommer. Peut aussi remplacer un ensemble d’objets inanimés (ou d’idées) qu’on devine par le contexte. | Non usuel donné à de nombreuses variétés de Brassica oleracea ainsi qu'a quelques autres espèces du genre Brassica, plante potagère de la famille des Brassicaceae (anciennement crucifères) que l'on cultive pour manger diverses partie de la plante. |
Where the eye mixes chose and chou
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. chose (\ʃoz\) and chou (\ʃu\) 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 6329, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chose is recorded at frequency rank #158, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃoz\. chou is at rank #6,171, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃu\.
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 6329, this pair ranks #426,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chose vs chou
Shared letters: cho. Private to "chose": es. Private to "chou": u.
"chose" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "chou" · 4 letters · shape CCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chose" and "chou" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "chose" or "chou"?
What to do next
You've compared "chose" and "chou". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "chose" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chou" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #426,542 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chose" and "chou" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chou vs coon". 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
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.