Which to use
“caler” is a verb and “clerc” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #22,506
- “caler” frequency rank
- #16,093
- “clerc” frequency rank
- 38599
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | caler | clerc |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Baisser, en parlant des basses vergues, des mâts de hune ou de perroquet. | Personne qui est entrée dans l’état ecclésiastique en recevant la tonsure. |
Where the eye mixes caler and clerc
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. caler (CVCVC) and clerc (CCVCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: caler vs clerc
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: caler is \ka.le\ while clerc is \klɛʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 4 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38599, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
caler is recorded at frequency rank #22,506, classified as averb, pronounced \ka.le\. clerc is at rank #16,093, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɛʁ\.
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 38599, this pair ranks #254,142 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of caler vs clerc
Shared letters: celr. Private to "caler": a. Private to "clerc": -.
"caler" · 5 letters · shape CVCVC · "clerc" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "caler" and "clerc" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "caler" or "clerc" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "caler" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clerc" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #254,142 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "caler" and "clerc" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caler vs carrer". 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 #254,142 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.