Which to use
“cause” and “chase” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,663
- “cause” frequency rank
- #20,547
- “chase” frequency rank
- 48210
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cause | chase |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grund, Ursache, Anlass | die Jagd, die Hetzjagd |
Where the eye mixes cause and chase
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cause vs chase
A purely visual mix-up. cause ([koz]) and chase ([tʃeɪs]) 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 48210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cause is recorded at frequency rank #27,663, classified as anoun, pronounced [koz]. chase is at rank #20,547, tagged as anoun, pronounced [tʃeɪs].
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 48210, this pair ranks #1,256,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cause vs chase
Shared letters: aces. Private to "cause": u. Private to "chase": h.
"cause" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "chase" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cause" and "chase" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cause" or "chase"?
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 "cause" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "chase" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,256,860 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cause" and "chase" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cause vs Clausen". 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 #1,256,860 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.