Which to use
“cirque” and “clique” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,366
- “cirque” frequency rank
- #23,784
- “clique” frequency rank
- 54150
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cirque | clique |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A Roman circus. | A small, exclusive group of individuals, usually according to lifestyle or social status; a cabal. |
Where the eye mixes cirque and clique
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. cirque (CVCCVV) and clique (CCVCVV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between cirque and clique
A purely visual mix-up. cirque (/sɜːk/) and clique (/kliːk/) 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 54150, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cirque is recorded at frequency rank #30,366, classified as anoun, pronounced /sɜːk/. clique is at rank #23,784, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kliːk/.
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 54150, this pair ranks #143,295 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cirque vs clique
Shared letters: ceiqu. Private to "cirque": r. Private to "clique": l.
"cirque" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVV · "clique" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "cirque" and "clique" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "cirque" or "clique"?
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 "cirque" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clique" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #143,295 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cirque" and "clique" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cinque vs cirque". 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 #143,295 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.