Which to use
“clay” and “clon” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,254
- “clay” frequency rank
- #15,309
- “clon” frequency rank
- 36563
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clay | clon |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Arcilla. | Animal, y en la ciencia ficción también ser humano, reproducido perfectamente como una copia fiel de otro individuo, a partir de una célula somática única, y del material genético contenida en ella, en lugar de la reproducción sexual que produce individuos que varían genéticamente con respecto a sus padres. |
Where the eye mixes clay and clon
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence. clay (CCVV) and clon (CCVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Visual trap between clay and clon
A purely visual mix-up. clay (/kleɪ/) and clon ([ˈklõn]) 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 36563, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clay is recorded at frequency rank #21,254, classified as anoun, pronounced /kleɪ/. clon is at rank #15,309, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈklõn].
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 36563, this pair ranks #179,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clay vs clon
Shared letters: cl. Private to "clay": ay. Private to "clon": no.
"clay" · 4 letters · shape CCVV · "clon" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clay" for "clon" ever safe?
Which is more common, "clay" or "clon"?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "clay" and "clon" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clay" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clon" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #179,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clay" and "clon" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chuy vs clay". 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 #179,982 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.