Which to use
“clou” and “cod” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,272
- “clou” frequency rank
- #12,688
- “cod” frequency rank
- 51960
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clou | cod |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Nagel | Kabeljau, Dorsch |
Where the eye mixes clou and cod
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clou with cod
A purely visual mix-up. clou ([klu]) and cod ([kɒd]) 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 51960, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clou is recorded at frequency rank #39,272, classified as anoun, pronounced [klu]. cod is at rank #12,688, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɒd].
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 51960, this pair ranks #1,115,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clou vs cod
Shared letters: co. Private to "clou": lu. Private to "cod": d.
"clou" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "cod" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- clou ← cclou · cllou · cluo · colu · lcou
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clou" and "cod" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "clou" or "cod"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clou" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cod" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,115,358 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clou" and "cod" 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 #1,115,358 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.