ciblésvsclésWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: ciblés is a verb, clés is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“ciblés” is a verb and “clés” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#20,957
“ciblés” frequency rank
#2,666
“clés” frequency rank
23623
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ciblés clés
Definition Participe passé masculin pluriel du verbe cibler. Pluriel de clé.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ciblés and clés apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
ciblés
4 ch
clés

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ciblés is \si.ble\ while clés is \kle\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23623, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ciblés is recorded at frequency rank #20,957, classified as averb, pronounced \si.ble\. 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 23623, this pair ranks #351,378 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of ciblés vs clés

Shared letters: clsé. Private to "ciblés": bi. Private to "clés": -.

"ciblés" · 6 letters · shape CVCCVC  ·  "clés" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Frequency comparison

ciblés#20,957
clés#2,666

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ciblés" and "clés" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ciblés" is a verb and "clés" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ciblés" or "clés"?
"clés" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,666 in our French list, against #20,957 for "ciblés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ciblés vs clés

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “ciblés”; for a noun, it's “clés”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ciblés” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list