Which to use
“chai” is a noun and “clair” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,430
- “chai” frequency rank
- #48,806
- “clair” frequency rank
- 86236
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | chai | clair |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Gefäß für Flüssigkeiten oder Ähnliches; Flasche | hell, anschaulich, bestimmt, deutlich, klar, licht, lichtvoll |
Where the eye mixes chai and clair
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses chai with clair
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: chai is [t͡ɕaːj˧˧] while clair is [klɛʁ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 86236, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
chai is recorded at frequency rank #37,430, classified as anoun, pronounced [t͡ɕaːj˧˧]. clair is at rank #48,806, tagged as anadj, pronounced [klɛʁ].
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 86236, this pair ranks #96,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of chai vs clair
Shared letters: aci. Private to "chai": h. Private to "clair": lr.
"chai" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "clair" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "chai" and "clair" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "chai" vs "clair" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "chai" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clair" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #96,654 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "chai" and "clair" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "carr vs clair". 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 #96,654 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.