caussesvschausséeWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,974
“causses” frequency rank
#5,223
“chaussée” frequency rank
54197
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature causses chaussée
Definition Pluriel de causse. Sorte de talus qu’on fait au bord d’une rivière, d’un étang, pour retenir l’eau.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set causses and chaussée apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
causses
8 ch
chaussée

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. causses (\kos\) and chaussée (\ʃo.se\) 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 54197, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

causses is recorded at frequency rank #48,974, classified as anoun, pronounced \kos\. chaussée is at rank #5,223, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ʃo.se\.

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 54197, this pair ranks #135,594 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of causses vs chaussée

Shared letters: acesu. Private to "causses": -. Private to "chaussée": .

"causses" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "chaussée" · 8 letters · shape CCVVCCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caussesacusses · casuses · causess · caussess · caussse · ccausses · cuasses

Frequency comparison

causses#48,974
chaussée#5,223

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "causses" and "chaussée" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kos\ versus \ʃo.se\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "causses" or "chaussée"?
"chaussée" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,223 in our French list, against #48,974 for "causses". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering causses vs chaussée

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 “causses” 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