chase vs chau, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“chase” is a noun and “chau” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,831
“chase” frequency rank: #41,178
“chau” frequency rank: 57009
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	chase	chau
Definition	Poursuite, suite, chasse.	Froncer.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set chase and chau apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

chase

4 ch

chau

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chase is \tʃeɪs\ while chau is \cau˦\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 57009, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chase is recorded at frequency rank #15,831, classified as anoun, pronounced \tʃeɪs\. chau is at rank #41,178, tagged as averb, pronounced \cau˦\.

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 57009, this pair ranks #117,581 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chase vs chau

Shared letters: ach. Private to "chase": es. Private to "chau": u.

"chase" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "chau" · 4 letters · shape CCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

chase ← cahse · cchase · chaes · chhase · chsae · hcase
chau ← cahu · cchau · chhau · chua · hcau

Frequency comparison

chase#15,831

chau#41,178

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chase" and "chau" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chase" is a noun and "chau" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "chase" or "chau"?

"chase" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,831 in our French list, against #41,178 for "chau". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering chase vs chau

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “chase”; for a verb, it's “chau”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “chase” entry
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