cachevsclocheConfusable pair

Which to use

“cache” and “cloche” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,409
“cache” frequency rank
#6,690
“cloche” frequency rank
9099
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature cache cloche
Definition Lieu propre à cacher ou à se cacher. Instrument fait de métal, ordinairement de bronze, creux, ouvert, qui va en s’élargissant par en bas et dont on tire du son au moyen d’un battant suspendu à l’intérieur ou à l’aide d’un marteau extérieur.

Where the eye mixes cache and cloche

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.

5 ch
cache
6 ch
cloche

Visual trap between cache and cloche

A purely visual mix-up. cache (\kaʃ\) and cloche (\klɔʃ\) 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 9099, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

cache is recorded at frequency rank #2,409, classified as anoun, pronounced \kaʃ\. cloche is at rank #6,690, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɔʃ\.

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 9099, this pair ranks #417,794 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of cache vs cloche

Shared letters: ceh. Private to "cache": a. Private to "cloche": lo.

"cache" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "cloche" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • cacheacche · cacche · caceh · cachhe · cahce · ccache · ccahe
  • clocheccloche · clcohe · clloche · clocche · cloceh · clochhe · clohce · colche

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "cache" for "cloche" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\kaʃ\ versus \klɔʃ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "cache" vs "cloche" - which ranks higher?
"cache" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,409 in our French list, against #6,690 for "cloche". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "cache" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cloche" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #417,794 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "cache" and "cloche" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cache vs coaches". 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 #417,794 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list