chase vs choose, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#10,327
“chase” frequency rank: #31,290
“choose” frequency rank: 41617
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	chase	choose
Definition	caçada	escolher

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chase and choose apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

chase

6 ch

choose

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chase is /tʃeɪs/, SAMPA: /tSeIs/ while choose is /t͡ʃuːz/, enPR: cho͞oz. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41617, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chase is recorded at frequency rank #10,327, classified as anoun, pronounced /tʃeɪs/, SAMPA: /tSeIs/. choose is at rank #31,290, tagged as averb, pronounced /t͡ʃuːz/, enPR: cho͞oz.

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 41617, this pair ranks #24,281 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chase vs choose

Shared letters: cehs. Private to "chase": a. Private to "choose": o.

"chase" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "choose" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

chase ← cahse · cchase · chaes · chasse · chhase · chsae · hcase
choose ← cchoose · chhoose · chooes · choosse · chose · chosoe · cohose · hcoose

Frequency comparison

chase#10,327

choose#31,290

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chase" and "choose" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chase" is a noun and "choose" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "chase" or "choose"?

"chase" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,327 in our Portuguese list, against #31,290 for "choose". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chase vs choose

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chase”; for a verb, it's “choose”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chase” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable