claquesvsclausesWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#21,570
“claques” frequency rank
#12,742
“clauses” frequency rank
34312
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature claques clauses
Definition Pluriel de claque. Pluriel de clause.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
claques
7 ch
clauses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. claques (\klak\) and clauses (\kloz\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 34312, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

claques is recorded at frequency rank #21,570, classified as anoun, pronounced \klak\. 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 34312, this pair ranks #284,706 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of claques vs clauses

Shared letters: acelsu. Private to "claques": q. Private to "clauses": -.

"claques" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC  ·  "clauses" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • claquescalques · cclaques · claqeus · claqques · claquess · claquse · clauqes · cllaques
  • clausescaluses · cclauses · clasues · clauess · clausess · clausses · cllauses · cluases

Frequency comparison

claques#21,570
clauses#12,742

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "claques" and "clauses" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\klak\ versus \kloz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "claques" or "clauses"?
"clauses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,742 in our French list, against #21,570 for "claques". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering claques vs clauses

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 “claques” 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