Which to use
“clue” and “crud” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,306
- “clue” frequency rank
- #45,306
- “crud” frequency rank
- 50612
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clue | crud |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A strand of yarn etc. as used to guide one through a labyrinth; something which points the way, a guide. | Dirt, filth or refuse. |
Where the eye mixes clue and crud
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. clue (CCVV) and crud (CCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: clue vs crud
A purely visual mix-up. clue (/kluː/) and crud (/kɹʌd/) 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 50612, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clue is recorded at frequency rank #5,306, classified as anoun, pronounced /kluː/. crud is at rank #45,306, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹʌd/.
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 50612, this pair ranks #172,697 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clue vs crud
Shared letters: cu. Private to "clue": el. Private to "crud": dr.
"clue" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "crud" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clue" for "crud" ever safe?
Which is more common, "clue" or "crud"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "clue" and "crud" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clue" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crud" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,697 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clue" and "crud" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "crud vs CVD". 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 #172,697 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.