Which to use
“claim” is a noun and “clem” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,181
- “claim” frequency rank
- #29,597
- “clem” frequency rank
- 30778
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | claim | clem |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A demand of ownership made for something. | To be hungry; starve. |
Where the eye mixes claim and clem
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between claim and clem
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: claim is /kleɪm/ while clem is /klɛm/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 30778, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
claim is recorded at frequency rank #1,181, classified as anoun, pronounced /kleɪm/. clem is at rank #29,597, tagged as averb, pronounced /klɛm/.
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 30778, this pair ranks #351,637 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of claim vs clem
Shared letters: clm. Private to "claim": ai. Private to "clem": e.
"claim" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "clem" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "claim" for "clem" ever safe?
Frequency check: "claim" vs "clem" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "claim" and "clem" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "claim" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clem" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #351,637 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "claim" and "clem" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clem vs Clo". 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 #351,637 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.