claquevsclaquentWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#7,942
“claque” frequency rank
#38,706
“claquent” frequency rank
46648
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature claque claquent
Definition Coup du plat de la main. Troisième personne du pluriel de l’indicatif présent du verbe claquer.

Where the spellings diverge

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

6 ch
claque
8 ch
claquent

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Say them out loud and nothing separates them: claque and claquent carry the same recorded pronunciation, \klak\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anoun, the other averb, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “claque” sits inside “claquent”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46648, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

claque is recorded at frequency rank #7,942, classified as anoun, pronounced \klak\. claquent is at rank #38,706, tagged as averb, 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 46648, this pair ranks #193,280 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of claque vs claquent

Shared letters: acelqu. Private to "claque": -. Private to "claquent": nt.

"claque" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV  ·  "claquent" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • claquecclaque · claqeu · claqque · clauqe · cllaque · clqaue · lcaque
  • claquentcalquent · cclaquent · claqeunt · claqquent · claquennt · claquentt · claquetn · claqunet

Frequency comparison

claque#7,942
claquent#38,706

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "claque" and "claquent" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "claque" is a noun and "claquent" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "claque" or "claquent"?
"claque" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,942 in our French list, against #38,706 for "claquent". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering claque vs claquent

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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