classevsclausesTell them apart

Which to use

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

#598
“classe” frequency rank
#12,742
“clauses” frequency rank
13340
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature classe clauses
Definition Groupe de personnes et de familles ayant la même position dans la société ; classe sociale. Pluriel de clause.

Where the eye mixes classe and clauses

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. classe runs 6 letters (CCVCCV) against clauses's 7 (CCVVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

6 ch
classe
7 ch
clauses

Visual trap between classe and clauses

A purely visual mix-up. classe (\klɑs\) 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 differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13340, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

classe is recorded at frequency rank #598, classified as anoun, pronounced \klɑs\. 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 13340, this pair ranks #401,417 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of classe vs clauses

Shared letters: acels. Private to "classe": -. Private to "clauses": u.

"classe" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV  ·  "clauses" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • classecalsse · cclasse · clase · clases · cllasse · clsase · lcasse
  • clausescaluses · cclauses · clasues · clauess · clausess · clausses · cllauses · cluases

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "classe" and "clauses" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\klɑs\ versus \kloz\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "classe" vs "clauses" - which ranks higher?
"classe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #598 in our French list, against #12,742 for "clauses". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "classe" 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 #401,417 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "classe" and "clauses" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "causses vs clauses". 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 #401,417 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list