Which to use
“clan” and “clave” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,967
- “clan” frequency rank
- #1,401
- “clave” frequency rank
- 9368
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clan | clave |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grupo de personas con un vínculo de sangre o parentesco, que establece derechos y obligaciones entre sí. | Explicación de los signos convenidos para escribir en cifra, o de cualesquiera otros distintos de los conocidos o usuales. |
Where the eye mixes clan and clave
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clan with clave
A purely visual mix-up. clan ([ˈklãn]) and clave ([ˈklaβ̞e]) 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 9368, 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]. clave is at rank #1,401, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞e].
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 9368, this pair ranks #302,139 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clan vs clave
Shared letters: acl. Private to "clan": n. Private to "clave": ev.
"clan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "clave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clan" for "clave" ever safe?
Which is more common, "clan" or "clave"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clan" and "clave" 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 "clave" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #302,139 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clan" and "clave" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clan vs coin". 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 #302,139 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.