caussevscesseWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“causse” and “cesse” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#41,174
“causse” frequency rank
#2,464
“cesse” frequency rank
43638
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature causse cesse
Definition Nom donné dans le Massif Central à de hauts plateaux calcaires nus et arides. Fin, relâche.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
causse
5 ch
cesse

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. causse (\kos\) and cesse (\sɛs\) 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 43638, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

causse is recorded at frequency rank #41,174, classified as anoun, pronounced \kos\. cesse is at rank #2,464, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sɛs\.

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 43638, this pair ranks #216,530 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of causse vs cesse

Shared letters: ces. Private to "causse": au. Private to "cesse": -.

"causse" · 6 letters · shape CVVCCV  ·  "cesse" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • causseacusse · casuse · ccausse · cuasse
  • cesseccesse · ceses · csese · ecsse

Frequency comparison

causse#41,174
cesse#2,464

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "causse" and "cesse" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kos\ versus \sɛs\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "causse" or "cesse"?
"cesse" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,464 in our French list, against #41,174 for "causse". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering causse vs cesse

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “causse” 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