Which to use
“clave” is a noun and “close” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,401
- “clave” frequency rank
- #32,560
- “close” frequency rank
- 33961
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clave | close |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Explicación de los signos convenidos para escribir en cifra, o de cualesquiera otros distintos de los conocidos o usuales. | Cerrar. |
Where the eye mixes clave and close
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between clave and close
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clave is [ˈklaβ̞e] while close is /kləʊz/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clave is recorded at frequency rank #1,401, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklaβ̞e]. close is at rank #32,560, tagged as averb, pronounced /kləʊz/.
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 33961, this pair ranks #193,957 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clave vs close
Shared letters: cel. Private to "clave": av. Private to "close": os.
"clave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "close" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clave" and "close" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clave" or "close"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clave" and "close" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "close" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #193,957 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clave" and "close" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "close vs clown". 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 #193,957 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.