Which to use
“cer” and “clés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,052
- “cer” frequency rank
- #2,666
- “clés” frequency rank
- 48718
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cer | clés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ciel. | Pluriel de clé. |
Where the eye mixes cer and clés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: cer vs clés
A purely visual mix-up. cer (\ˈʧeɾ\) and clés (\kle\) 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 48718, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cer is recorded at frequency rank #46,052, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈʧeɾ\. clés is at rank #2,666, 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 48718, this pair ranks #176,583 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cer vs clés
Shared letters: c. Private to "cer": er. Private to "clés": lsé.
"cer" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "clés" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "cer" for "clés" ever safe?
Frequency check: "cer" vs "clés" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "cer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #176,583 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cer" and "clés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cer vs ciro". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #176,583 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.