clausvsclausesWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#39,220
“claus” frequency rank
#12,742
“clauses” frequency rank
51962
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature claus clauses
Definition Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe claure. Pluriel de clause.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set claus and clauses apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
claus
7 ch
clauses

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: claus is [ˈklaws] while clauses is \kloz\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “claus” sits inside “clauses”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51962, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

claus is recorded at frequency rank #39,220, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈklaws]. 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 51962, this pair ranks #151,144 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of claus vs clauses

Shared letters: aclsu. Private to "claus": -. Private to "clauses": e.

"claus" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC  ·  "clauses" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clauscalus · cclaus · clasu · clauss · cllaus · cluas · lcaus
  • clausescaluses · cclauses · clasues · clauess · clausess · clausses · cllauses · cluases

Frequency comparison

claus#39,220
clauses#12,742

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "claus" and "clauses" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "claus" is a verb and "clauses" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "claus" or "clauses"?
"clauses" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,742 in our French list, against #39,220 for "claus". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering claus vs clauses

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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