Which to use
“clause” is a noun and “coarse” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,205
- “clause” frequency rank
- #16,865
- “coarse” frequency rank
- 24070
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clause | coarse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | With a rough texture; not smooth. |
Where the eye mixes clause and coarse
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clause with coarse
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clause is /klɔːz/ while coarse is /kɔːs/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24070, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clause is recorded at frequency rank #7,205, classified as anoun, pronounced /klɔːz/. coarse is at rank #16,865, tagged as anadj, pronounced /kɔːs/.
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 24070, this pair ranks #404,706 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clause vs coarse
Shared letters: aces. Private to "clause": lu. Private to "coarse": or.
"clause" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV · "coarse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clause" and "coarse" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "clause" or "coarse"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clause" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "coarse" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #404,706 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clause" and "coarse" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coarse vs cours". 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 #404,706 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.