Which to use
“cil” and “clé” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #33,611
- “cil” frequency rank
- #1,987
- “clé” frequency rank
- 35598
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | cil | clé |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Poil des paupières. | 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 cil and clé
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses cil with clé
A purely visual mix-up. cil (\sil\) 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 35598, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
cil is recorded at frequency rank #33,611, classified as anoun, pronounced \sil\. 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 35598, this pair ranks #275,553 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of cil vs clé
Shared letters: cl. Private to "cil": i. Private to "clé": é.
"cil" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "clé" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "cil" and "clé" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "cil" vs "clé" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "cil" 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 #275,553 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "cil" and "clé" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cil vs ciro". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #275,553 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.