clonvsclownWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“clon” and “clown” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#15,309
“clon” frequency rank
#45,204
“clown” frequency rank
60513
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clon clown
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. Payaso.

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
clon
5 ch
clown

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. clon ([ˈklõn]) 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 60513, 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]. 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 60513, this pair ranks #58,672 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of clon vs clown

Shared letters: clno. Private to "clon": -. Private to "clown": w.

"clon" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "clown" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cloncclon · cllon · clno · clonn · coln · lcon
  • clowncclown · cllown · clonw · clownn · clowwn · clwon · colwn · lcown

Frequency comparison

clon#15,309
clown#45,204

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clon" and "clown" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˈklõn] versus [ˈklõwn]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "clon" or "clown"?
"clon" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,309 in our Spanish list, against #45,204 for "clown". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering clon vs clown

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • 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