Which to use
“cloud” and “clough” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,219
- “cloud” frequency rank
- #33,578
- “clough” frequency rank
- 36797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cloud | clough |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air. | A narrow valley; a cleft in a hillside; a ravine, glen, or gorge. |
Where the eye mixes cloud and clough
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between cloud and clough
A purely visual mix-up. cloud (/klaʊd/) and clough (/klʌf/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cloud is recorded at frequency rank #3,219, classified as anoun, pronounced /klaʊd/. clough is at rank #33,578, tagged as anoun, pronounced /klʌf/.
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 36797, this pair ranks #300,081 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cloud vs clough
Shared letters: clou. Private to "cloud": d. Private to "clough": gh.
"cloud" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "clough" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cloud" and "clough" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cloud" vs "clough" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cloud" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clough" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #300,081 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cloud" and "clough" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clog vs clough". 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 #300,081 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.