Which to use
“chauves” is an adjective and “clauses” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #20,083
- “chauves” frequency rank
- #12,742
- “clauses” frequency rank
- 32825
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chauves | clauses |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de chauve. | Pluriel de clause. |
Where the eye mixes chauves and clauses
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chauves with clauses
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chauves is \ʃov\ while clauses is \kloz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32825, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chauves is recorded at frequency rank #20,083, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʃov\. 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 32825, this pair ranks #294,709 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of chauves vs clauses
Shared letters: acesu. Private to "chauves": hv. Private to "clauses": l.
"chauves" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "clauses" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "chauves" and "clauses" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "chauves" or "clauses"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chauves" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clauses" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #294,709 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chauves" and "clauses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chauves vs Chávez". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #294,709 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.