Which to use
“chose” and “cost” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #158
- “chose” frequency rank
- #14,234
- “cost” frequency rank
- 14392
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chose | cost |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Coût. |
Where the eye mixes chose and cost
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: chose vs cost
A purely visual mix-up. chose (\ʃoz\) and cost (\kɒst\) 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 14392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chose is recorded at frequency rank #158, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃoz\. cost is at rank #14,234, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɒst\.
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 14392, this pair ranks #396,882 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of chose vs cost
Shared letters: cos. Private to "chose": eh. Private to "cost": t.
"chose" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "cost" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chose" and "cost" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "chose" vs "cost" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chose" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cost" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,882 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chose" and "cost" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coon vs cost". 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 #396,882 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.