Which to use
“clan” is a noun and “con” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,429
- “clan” frequency rank
- #4,434
- “con” frequency rank
- 11863
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clan | con |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A group of people all descended from a common ancestor, in fact or belief, especially when the exact genealogies are not known. | To study or examine carefully, especially in order to gain knowledge of; to learn, or learn by heart. |
Where the eye mixes clan and con
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clan with con
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clan is /klæn/ while con is /kɒn/. 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 11863, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clan is recorded at frequency rank #7,429, classified as anoun, pronounced /klæn/. con is at rank #4,434, tagged as averb, pronounced /kɒn/.
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 11863, this pair ranks #484,718 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clan vs con
Shared letters: cn. Private to "clan": al. Private to "con": o.
"clan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "con" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- clan ← caln · cclan · clann · cllan · clna · lcan
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clan" for "con" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clan" vs "con" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "clan" and "con" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "con" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #484,718 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clan" and "con" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caw vs clan". 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 #484,718 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.