Which to use
“Clown” and “crown” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,625
- “Clown” frequency rank
- #29,993
- “crown” frequency rank
- 41618
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Clown | crown |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Person, die vor Publikum (vor allem im Zirkus) in auffälligen Kostümen auftritt und Späße macht | Krone, Kopfbedeckung für Könige und Königinnen |
Where the eye mixes Clown and crown
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses Clown with crown
A purely visual mix-up. Clown ([klaʊ̯n]) and crown ([kɹaʊn]) 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 a single letter - l in “Clown” becomes r in “crown”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 41618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Clown is recorded at frequency rank #11,625, classified as anoun, pronounced [klaʊ̯n]. crown is at rank #29,993, tagged as anoun, pronounced [kɹaʊn].
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 41618, this pair ranks #1,474,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Clown vs crown
Shared letters: cnow. Private to "Clown": l. Private to "crown": r.
"Clown" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "crown" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Clown" for "crown" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Clown" or "crown"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "Clown" and "crown" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "Clown" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crown" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,474,071 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Clown" and "crown" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crews vs crown". 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 #1,474,071 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.