clasevscurseWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: clase is a noun, curse is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“clase” is a noun and “curse” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#397
“clase” frequency rank
#44,090
“curse” frequency rank
44487
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clase curse
Definition Marca o tipo, a menudo asociado con “modelo”. Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de cursar.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
clase
5 ch
curse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clase is [ˈklase] while curse is [ˈkuɾse]. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44487, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clase is recorded at frequency rank #397, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklase]. curse is at rank #44,090, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈkuɾse].

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 44487, this pair ranks #136,789 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of clase vs curse

Shared letters: ces. Private to "clase": al. Private to "curse": ru.

"clase" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "curse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clasecalse · cclase · clace · claes · classe · cllase · clsae · lcase
  • curseccurse · cruse · curce · cures · currse · cursse · cusre · ucrse

Frequency comparison

clase#397
curse#44,090

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clase" and "curse" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "clase" is a noun and "curse" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "clase" or "curse"?
"clase" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #397 in our Spanish list, against #44,090 for "curse". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering clase vs curse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “clase”; for a verb, it's “curse”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “clase” 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