Which to use
“clasp” and “clays” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #25,321
- “clasp” frequency rank
- #37,382
- “clays” frequency rank
- 62703
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clasp | clays |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A device with interlocking parts used for fastening things together, such as a fastener or a holder. | plural of clay |
Where the eye mixes clasp and clays
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. clasp (CCVCC) and clays (CCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between clasp and clays
A purely visual mix-up. clasp (/klæsp/) and clays (/kleɪz/) 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 62703, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clasp is recorded at frequency rank #25,321, classified as anoun, pronounced /klæsp/. clays is at rank #37,382, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kleɪz/.
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 62703, this pair ranks #87,005 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of clasp vs clays
Shared letters: acls. Private to "clasp": p. Private to "clays": y.
"clasp" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "clays" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clasp" and "clays" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clasp" or "clays"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "clasp" and "clays" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clasp" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clays" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #87,005 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clasp" and "clays" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clack vs clays". 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 #87,005 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.