Which to use
“clan” and “clava” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,967
- “clan” frequency rank
- #24,423
- “clava” frequency rank
- 32390
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clan | clava |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grupo de personas con un vínculo de sangre o parentesco, que establece derechos y obligaciones entre sí. | Palo toscamente labrado, como de un metro de largo, que va aumentando de diámetro desde la empuñadura hasta el extremo opuesto. |
Where the eye mixes clan and clava
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. clan runs 4 letters (CCVC) against clava's 5 (CCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: clan vs clava
A purely visual mix-up. clan ([ˈklãn]) and clava ([ˈklaβ̞a]) 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 32390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clan is recorded at frequency rank #7,967, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklãn]. clava is at rank #24,423, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞a].
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 32390, this pair ranks #202,222 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clan vs clava
Shared letters: acl. Private to "clan": n. Private to "clava": v.
"clan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "clava" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clan" and "clava" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clan" or "clava"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "clan" and "clava" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clava" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #202,222 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clan" and "clava" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clava vs Cova". 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 #202,222 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.