Which to use
“clave” and “crane” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,401
- “clave” frequency rank
- #39,140
- “crane” frequency rank
- 40541
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clave | crane |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Explicación de los signos convenidos para escribir en cifra, o de cualesquiera otros distintos de los conocidos o usuales. | Grulla. |
Where the eye mixes clave and crane
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clave with crane
A purely visual mix-up. clave ([ˈklaβ̞e]) and crane (/kɹeɪn/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 40541, 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]. crane is at rank #39,140, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kɹeɪn/.
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 40541, this pair ranks #158,508 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clave vs crane
Shared letters: ace. Private to "clave": lv. Private to "crane": nr.
"clave" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "crane" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clave" and "crane" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clave" or "crane"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clave" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "crane" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #158,508 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clave" and "crane" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cade vs crane". 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 #158,508 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.