Which to use
“Clans” is a noun and “Claus” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #12,887
- “Clans” frequency rank
- #7,449
- “Claus” frequency rank
- 20336
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Clans | Claus |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nominativ Plural des Substantivs Clan | männlicher Vorname |
Where the eye mixes Clans and Claus
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: Clans vs Claus
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: Clans is [klaːns] while Claus is [klaʊ̯s]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - n in “Clans” becomes u in “Claus”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20336, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Clans is recorded at frequency rank #12,887, classified as anoun, pronounced [klaːns]. Claus is at rank #7,449, tagged as aname, pronounced [klaʊ̯s].
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 20336, this pair ranks #1,898,788 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of Clans vs Claus
Shared letters: acls. Private to "Clans": n. Private to "Claus": u.
"Clans" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Claus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Clans" and "Claus" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary German text, does "Clans" or "Claus" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Clans" and "Claus" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Clans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Claus" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,898,788 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Clans" and "Claus" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clair vs Clans". 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 #1,898,788 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.