Which to use
“clair” is an adjective and “clavier” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,086
- “clair” frequency rank
- #5,532
- “clavier” frequency rank
- 6618
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clair | clavier |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a l’éclat du jour, de la lumière. | Anneau ou chaîne de métal, servant à réunir des clefs. |
Where the eye mixes clair and clavier
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: clair vs clavier
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clair is \klɛʁ\ while clavier is \kla.vje\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6618, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clair is recorded at frequency rank #1,086, classified as anadj, pronounced \klɛʁ\. clavier is at rank #5,532, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kla.vje\.
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 6618, this pair ranks #425,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clair vs clavier
Shared letters: acilr. Private to "clair": -. Private to "clavier": ev.
"clair" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "clavier" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clair" and "clavier" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "clair" or "clavier"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "clair" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clavier" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #425,727 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clair" and "clavier" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clavel vs clavier". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #425,727 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.