Which to use
“clash” and “class” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,430
- “clash” frequency rank
- #430
- “class” frequency rank
- 7860
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clash | class |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A loud sound, like the crashing together of metal objects; a crash. | A group, collection, category or set sharing characteristics or attributes. |
Where the eye mixes clash and class
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between clash and class
A purely visual mix-up. clash (/klaʃ/) and class (/klɑːs/) 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 - h in “clash” becomes s in “class”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7860, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clash is recorded at frequency rank #7,430, classified as anoun, pronounced /klaʃ/. class is at rank #430, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klɑːs/.
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 7860, this pair ranks #505,246 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clash vs class
Shared letters: acls. Private to "clash": h. Private to "class": -.
"clash" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "class" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clash" for "class" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clash" vs "class" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "clash" and "class" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clash" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "class" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #505,246 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clash" and "class" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clack vs clash". 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 #505,246 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.