Which to use
“clerks” and “clicks” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #19,290
- “clerks” frequency rank
- #10,827
- “clicks” frequency rank
- 30117
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clerks | clicks |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | plural of clerk | plural of click |
Where the eye mixes clerks and clicks
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. clerks and clicks follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Visual trap between clerks and clicks
A purely visual mix-up. clerks (/klɑː(ɹ)ks/) and clicks (/klɪks/) 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 30117, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clerks is recorded at frequency rank #19,290, classified as anoun, pronounced /klɑː(ɹ)ks/. clicks is at rank #10,827, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klɪks/.
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 30117, this pair ranks #357,225 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clerks vs clicks
Shared letters: ckls. Private to "clerks": er. Private to "clicks": i.
"clerks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "clicks" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clerks" for "clicks" ever safe?
Which is more common, "clerks" or "clicks"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clerks" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clicks" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #357,225 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clerks" and "clicks" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clicker vs clicks". 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 #357,225 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.