Which to use
“clock” and “Clown” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #49,562
- “clock” frequency rank
- #11,625
- “Clown” frequency rank
- 61187
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clock | Clown |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | feststehende Uhr, die im Gegensatz zur Armbanduhr nicht getragen werden kann | Person, die vor Publikum (vor allem im Zirkus) in auffälligen Kostümen auftritt und Späße macht |
Where the eye mixes clock and Clown
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clock with Clown
A purely visual mix-up. clock ([klɒk]) and Clown ([klaʊ̯n]) 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 61187, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clock is recorded at frequency rank #49,562, classified as anoun, pronounced [klɒk]. Clown is at rank #11,625, tagged as anoun, pronounced [klaʊ̯n].
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 61187, this pair ranks #759,092 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clock vs Clown
Shared letters: clo. Private to "clock": k. Private to "Clown": nw.
"clock" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "Clown" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clock" and "Clown" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "clock" vs "Clown" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clock" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Clown" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #759,092 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clock" and "Clown" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clock vs clou". 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 #759,092 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.