Which to use
“clan” and “clown” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #7,967
- “clan” frequency rank
- #45,204
- “clown” frequency rank
- 53171
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clan | clown |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Grupo de personas con un vínculo de sangre o parentesco, que establece derechos y obligaciones entre sí. | Payaso. |
Where the eye mixes clan and clown
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. clan runs 4 letters (CCVC) against clown's 5 (CCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: clan vs clown
A purely visual mix-up. clan ([ˈklãn]) and clown ([ˈklõwn]) 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 53171, 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]. clown is at rank #45,204, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklõwn].
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 53171, this pair ranks #89,172 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clan vs clown
Shared letters: cln. Private to "clan": a. Private to "clown": ow.
"clan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "clown" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clan" for "clown" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "clan" or "clown" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clown" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #89,172 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clan" and "clown" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clown 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 #89,172 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.