Which to use
“CFF” and “clé” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #46,639
- “CFF” frequency rank
- #1,987
- “clé” frequency rank
- 48626
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | CFF | clé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Société anonyme (détenue à 100 % par la Confédération suisse) exploitant les chemins de fer suisses. | 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 CFF and clé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses CFF with clé
A purely visual mix-up. CFF (\se.ɛf.ɛf\) 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 48626, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
CFF is recorded at frequency rank #46,639, classified as anoun, pronounced \se.ɛf.ɛf\. 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 48626, this pair ranks #177,358 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of CFF vs clé
Shared letters: c. Private to "CFF": f. Private to "clé": lé.
"CFF" · 3 letters · shape CCC · "clé" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "CFF" and "clé" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "CFF" vs "clé" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "CFF" 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 #177,358 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "CFF" and "clé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs CFF". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #177,358 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.