Which to use
“cause” and “CPUs” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #27,663
- “cause” frequency rank
- #45,837
- “CPUs” frequency rank
- 73500
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cause | CPUs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grund, Ursache, Anlass | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs CPU |
Where the eye mixes cause and CPUs
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cause with CPUs
A purely visual mix-up. cause ([koz]) and CPUs ([t͡seːpeːˈʔuːs]) 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 73500, 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]. CPUs is at rank #45,837, tagged as anoun, pronounced [t͡seːpeːˈʔuːs].
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 73500, this pair ranks #358,709 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of cause vs CPUs
Shared letters: csu. Private to "cause": ae. Private to "CPUs": p.
"cause" · 5 letters · shape CVVCV · "CPUs" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cause" for "CPUs" ever safe?
Which is more common, "cause" or "CPUs"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "cause" and "CPUs" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "cause" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "CPUs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #358,709 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cause" and "CPUs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCS vs CPUs". 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 #358,709 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.