clonvsclonarWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: clon is a noun, clonar is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“clon” is a noun and “clonar” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,309
“clon” frequency rank
#48,293
“clonar” frequency rank
63602
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clon clonar
Definition 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. Reproducir un individuo pluricelular a partir de una célula somática. Se usa en ganadería y en la agricultura. La clonación humana ha sido prohibida por razones éticas.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set clon and clonar apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
clon
6 ch
clonar

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clon is [ˈklõn] while clonar is [kloˈnaɾ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “clon” sits inside “clonar”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63602, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clon is recorded at frequency rank #15,309, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈklõn]. clonar is at rank #48,293, tagged as averb, pronounced [kloˈnaɾ].

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 63602, this pair ranks #48,234 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of clon vs clonar

Shared letters: clno. Private to "clon": -. Private to "clonar": ar.

"clon" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "clonar" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cloncclon · cllon · clno · clonn · coln · lcon
  • clonarcclonar · cllonar · clnoar · cloanr · clonarr · clonnar · clonra · colnar

Frequency comparison

clon#15,309
clonar#48,293

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clon" and "clonar" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "clon" is a noun and "clonar" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "clon" or "clonar"?
"clon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,309 in our Spanish list, against #48,293 for "clonar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering clon vs clonar

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “clon”; for a verb, it's “clonar”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “clon” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list