chaquevsclaqueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: chaque is a adjective, claque is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chaque” is an adjective and “claque” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#210
“chaque” frequency rank
#7,942
“claque” frequency rank
8152
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chaque claque
Definition Déterminant distributif, qui se place toujours avant le nom et n’a pas de pluriel. Se dit d’une personne, d’une chose qui fait partie d’un tout, d’un ensemble. Coup du plat de la main.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chaque and claque apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
chaque
6 ch
claque

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

chaque and claque form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by a single letter - h in “chaque” becomes l in “claque” - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8152, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chaque is recorded at frequency rank #210, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʃak\. claque is at rank #7,942, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klak\.

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 8152, this pair ranks #420,952 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

chaque#210
claque#7,942

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chaque" and "claque" be used interchangeably?
No, "chaque" and "claque" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering chaque vs claque

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “chaque”; for a noun, it's “claque”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chaque” 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