chapevsclapetWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#35,422
“chape” frequency rank
#33,612
“clapet” frequency rank
69034
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chape clapet
Definition Sorte de manteau long, sans plis et agrafé par devant, allant jusqu’aux talons, que portent l’évêque, le célébrant, les chantres, etc. durant l’office ; se dit aussi du grand manteau de drap ou de serge des chanoines. On nomme aussi ce vêtement un pluvial. Sorte de petite soupape qui se lève et se baisse par le moyen d’une simple charnière.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
chape
6 ch
clapet

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. chape (\ʃap\) and clapet (\kla.pɛ\) 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 69034, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chape is recorded at frequency rank #35,422, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃap\. clapet is at rank #33,612, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kla.pɛ\.

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 69034, this pair ranks #56,747 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of chape vs clapet

Shared letters: acep. Private to "chape": h. Private to "clapet": lt.

"chape" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "clapet" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chapecahpe · cchape · chappe · chhape · chpae · hcape
  • clapetcalpet · cclapet · claept · clapett · clappet · clapte · cllapet · clpaet

Frequency comparison

chape#35,422
clapet#33,612

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chape" and "clapet" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ʃap\ versus \kla.pɛ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "chape" or "clapet"?
"clapet" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #33,612 in our French list, against #35,422 for "chape". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chape vs clapet

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 “chape” 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