caussesvsclausesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#48,974
“causses” frequency rank
#12,742
“clauses” frequency rank
61716
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature causses clauses
Definition Pluriel de causse. Pluriel de clause.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
causses
7 ch
clauses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. causses (\kos\) and clauses (\kloz\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 61716, 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\. clauses is at rank #12,742, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kloz\.

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 61716, this pair ranks #90,825 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of causses vs clauses

Shared letters: acesu. Private to "causses": -. Private to "clauses": l.

"causses" · 7 letters · shape CVVCCVC  ·  "clauses" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • caussesacusses · casuses · causess · caussess · caussse · ccausses · cuasses
  • clausescaluses · cclauses · clasues · clauess · clausess · clausses · cllauses · cluases

Frequency comparison

causses#48,974
clauses#12,742

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "causses" and "clauses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kos\ versus \kloz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "causses" or "clauses"?
"clauses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,742 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 clauses

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