caléevscauséeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: calée is a adjective, causée is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“calée” is an adjective and “causée” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,384
“calée” frequency rank
#12,330
“causée” frequency rank
60714
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature calée causée
Definition Féminin singulier de calé. Participe passé féminin singulier du verbe causer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set calée and causée apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
calée
6 ch
causée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: calée is \ka.le\ while causée is \ko.ze\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 60714, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

calée is recorded at frequency rank #48,384, classified as anadj, pronounced \ka.le\. causée is at rank #12,330, tagged as averb, pronounced \ko.ze\.

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 60714, this pair ranks #96,192 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of calée vs causée

Shared letters: aceé. Private to "calée": l. Private to "causée": su.

"calée" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV  ·  "causée" · 6 letters · shape CVVCVV

Frequency comparison

calée#48,384
causée#12,330

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "calée" and "causée" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "calée" is an adjective and "causée" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "calée" or "causée"?
"causée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,330 in our French list, against #48,384 for "calée". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering calée vs causée

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “calée”; for a verb, it's “causée”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “calée” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list