clef
/klɛf/
"clef" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“clef” is uncommon English (frequency #56,015 among 43,570 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #56,015
- frequency rank, English
- 43,570
- “C” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A symbol found on a musical staff that indicates the pitches represented by the lines and the spaces on the staff
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | clef |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /klɛf/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #56,015 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “clef” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
clef is uncommon English at frequency #56,015 among 43,570 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /klɛf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "A symbol found on a musical staff that indicates the pitches represented by the lines and the spaces on the staff".
Zero misspellings are on record for clef in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French clef, from Latin clāvis (“a key”). Doublet of clave and clavis. The correct English form is clef, spelled C-L-E-F.
Definition
- 1A symbol found on a musical staff that indicates the pitches represented by the lines and the spaces on the staff
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French clef, from Latin clāvis (“a key”). Doublet of clave and clavis.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “clef”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-L-E-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /klɛf/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Other uncommon English words near this rank
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.