Which to use
“claps” and “clause” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,180
- “claps” frequency rank
- #7,205
- “clause” frequency rank
- 40385
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | claps | clause |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of clap | A group of words that contains a subject and a verb; it may be part of a sentence or may constitute the whole sentence, depending on the syntax in each instance. |
Where the eye mixes claps and clause
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses claps with clause
A purely visual mix-up. claps (/klæps/) and clause (/klɔːz/) 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 40385, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
claps is recorded at frequency rank #33,180, classified as anoun, pronounced /klæps/. clause is at rank #7,205, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klɔːz/.
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 40385, this pair ranks #268,074 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of claps vs clause
Shared letters: acls. Private to "claps": p. Private to "clause": eu.
"claps" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "clause" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "claps" for "clause" ever safe?
Frequency check: "claps" vs "clause" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "claps" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clause" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #268,074 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "claps" and "clause" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clack vs claps". 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 #268,074 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.