clashvscrushWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“clash” and “crush” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#34,577
“clash” frequency rank
#43,092
“crush” frequency rank
77669
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clash crush
Definition Geräusch, wie von einem Zusammenstoß; lautes, schrilles, klirrendes Geräusch Gewühl, Gedränge

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set clash and crush apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
clash
5 ch
crush

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. clash ([klæʃ]) and crush ([krʌʃ]) 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 77669, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clash is recorded at frequency rank #34,577, classified as anoun, pronounced [klæʃ]. crush is at rank #43,092, tagged as anoun, pronounced [krʌʃ].

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 77669, this pair ranks #255,606 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of clash vs crush

Shared letters: chs. Private to "clash": al. Private to "crush": ru.

"clash" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "crush" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clashcalsh · cclash · clahs · clashh · classh · cllash · clsah · lcash
  • crushccrush · crrush · crsuh · cruhs · crushh · crussh · cursh · rcush

Frequency comparison

clash#34,577
crush#43,092

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clash" and "crush" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([klæʃ] versus [krʌʃ]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "clash" or "crush"?
"clash" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,577 in our German list, against #43,092 for "crush". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering clash vs crush

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 “clash” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list