Which to use
“clink” and “clone” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #45,847
- “clink” frequency rank
- #11,518
- “clone” frequency rank
- 57365
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clink | clone |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The sound of metal on metal, or glass on glass. | A living organism (originally a plant) produced asexually from a single ancestor, to which it is genetically identical. |
Where the eye mixes clink and clone
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between clink and clone
A purely visual mix-up. clink (/klɪŋk/) and clone (/kloʊn/) 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 57365, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clink is recorded at frequency rank #45,847, classified as anoun, pronounced /klɪŋk/. clone is at rank #11,518, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kloʊn/.
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 57365, this pair ranks #119,808 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of clink vs clone
Shared letters: cln. Private to "clink": ik. Private to "clone": eo.
"clink" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "clone" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clink" for "clone" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clink" vs "clone" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clink" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clone" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #119,808 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clink" and "clone" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clack vs clink". 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 #119,808 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.