Which to use
“clays” and “clues” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #37,382
- “clays” frequency rank
- #9,300
- “clues” frequency rank
- 46682
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clays | clues |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of clay | plural of clue |
Where the eye mixes clays and clues
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: clays vs clues
A purely visual mix-up. clays (/kleɪz/) and clues (/kluːz/) 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 46682, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clays is recorded at frequency rank #37,382, classified as anoun, pronounced /kleɪz/. clues is at rank #9,300, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kluːz/.
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 46682, this pair ranks #209,429 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clays vs clues
Shared letters: cls. Private to "clays": ay. Private to "clues": eu.
"clays" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "clues" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clays" for "clues" ever safe?
Which is more common, "clays" or "clues"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "clays" and "clues" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clays" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clues" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #209,429 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clays" and "clues" 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 #209,429 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.