Which to use
“caresses” and “causses” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #18,427
- “caresses” frequency rank
- #48,974
- “causses” frequency rank
- 67401
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caresses | causses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de caresse. | Pluriel de causse. |
Where the eye mixes caresses and causses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. caresses runs 8 letters (CVCVCCVC) against causses's 7 (CVVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: caresses vs causses
A purely visual mix-up. caresses (\ka.ʁɛs\) and causses (\kos\) 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 67401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caresses is recorded at frequency rank #18,427, classified as anoun, pronounced \ka.ʁɛs\. causses is at rank #48,974, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kos\.
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 67401, this pair ranks #63,592 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of caresses vs causses
Shared letters: aces. Private to "caresses": r. Private to "causses": u.
"caresses" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCCVC · "causses" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "caresses" and "causses" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "caresses" vs "causses" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "caresses" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "causses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #63,592 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caresses" and "causses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "causses vs crosses". 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 #63,592 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.