Which to use
“CDD” and “clé” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,538
- “CDD” frequency rank
- #1,987
- “clé” frequency rank
- 13525
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | CDD | clé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Contrat à durée déterminée, type de contrat de travail en France. | Instrument de métal que l’on introduit dans une serrure pour ouvrir ou fermer un accès. Ancienne clé à panneton que l'on place et fait tourner dans la serrure d'une porte, d'un coffre, etc. |
Where the eye mixes CDD and clé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses CDD with clé
A purely visual mix-up. CDD (\se.de.de\) and clé (\kle\) 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 13525, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
CDD is recorded at frequency rank #11,538, classified as anoun, pronounced \se.de.de\. clé is at rank #1,987, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kle\.
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 13525, this pair ranks #400,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of CDD vs clé
Shared letters: c. Private to "CDD": d. Private to "clé": lé.
"CDD" · 3 letters · shape CCC · "clé" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "CDD" and "clé" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "CDD" or "clé"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "CDD" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clé" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #400,654 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "CDD" and "clé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs CDD". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #400,654 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.