cl vs CSU, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“cl” and “CSU” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#10,252
“cl” frequency rank: #1,348
“CSU” frequency rank: 11600
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	cl	CSU
Definition	Zentiliter (= 0,01 l, 10⁻² l, ein hundertstel Liter)	Kurzwort für Christlich-Soziale Union (in Bayern (e. V.))

Letter map: cl vs CSU

Shared letters muted; letters that set cl and CSU apart highlighted. Shared run: 1.

2 ch

3 ch

CSU

Spelling & dictionary notes on cl vs CSU

cl and CSU are indexed as a confusable German pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 11600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cl is recorded at frequency rank #10,252, classified as anabbrev. CSU is at rank #1,348, tagged as anabbrev, pronounced [tseːʔɛsˈʔuː].

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 11600, this pair ranks #1,968,970 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cl vs CSU

Shared letters: c. Private to "cl": l. Private to "CSU": su.

"cl" · 2 letters · shape CC · "CSU" · 3 letters · shape CCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cl" for "CSU" ever safe?

No. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.

Which is more common, "cl" or "CSU"?

"CSU" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,348 in our German list, against #10,252 for "cl". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "cl" and "CSU".

Full dictionary entry for "cl" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
Full dictionary entry for "CSU" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
This pair ranks #1,968,970 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
"cl" and "CSU" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCS vs cl". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #1,968,970 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.