ClarevsClausWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,271
“Clare” frequency rank
#7,449
“Claus” frequency rank
46720
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Clare Claus
Definition ein County bzw. eine historische Grafschaft in der Provinz Ulster, Republik Irland männlicher Vorname

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Clare and Claus apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
Clare
5 ch
Claus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Clare and Claus 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Clare is recorded at frequency rank #39,271, classified as aname, pronounced […]. 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 46720, this pair ranks #1,309,302 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of Clare vs Claus

Shared letters: acl. Private to "Clare": er. Private to "Claus": su.

"Clare" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "Claus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Clarecalre · cclare · clarre · cllare · clrae · lcare
  • Clauscalus · cclaus · clasu · clauss · cllaus · cluas · lcaus

Frequency comparison

Clare#39,271
Claus#7,449

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Clare" and "Claus" be used interchangeably?
No. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, but the dictionary glosses above give them different meanings, so swapping one for the other changes what the sentence says.
Which is more common, "Clare" or "Claus"?
"Claus" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,449 in our German list, against #39,271 for "Clare". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Clare vs Claus

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Clare” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list