Which to use
“clean” is an adjective and “cleave” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,135
- “clean” frequency rank
- #34,831
- “cleave” frequency rank
- 35966
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clean | cleave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Free of dirt, filth, or impurities (extraneous matter); not dirty, filthy, or soiled. | To split or sever something with, or as if with, a sharp instrument. |
Where the eye mixes clean and cleave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: clean vs cleave
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clean is /kliːn/ while cleave is /kliːv/. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35966, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clean is recorded at frequency rank #1,135, classified as anadj, pronounced /kliːn/. cleave is at rank #34,831, tagged as averb, pronounced /kliːv/.
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 35966, this pair ranks #307,380 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clean vs cleave
Shared letters: acel. Private to "clean": n. Private to "cleave": v.
"clean" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "cleave" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clean" and "cleave" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clean" or "cleave"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clean" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cleave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #307,380 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clean" and "cleave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cleave vs cleaved". 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 #307,380 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.