Which to use
“clair” is an adjective and “clercs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,086
- “clair” frequency rank
- #24,151
- “clercs” frequency rank
- 25237
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clair | clercs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a l’éclat du jour, de la lumière. | Pluriel de clerc. |
Same sound, different letters: clair vs clercs
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Ear matches; page differs - clair and clercs
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: clair and clercs carry the same recorded pronunciation, \klɛʁ\. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is anadjective, the other anoun, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25237, 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\. clercs is at rank #24,151, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɛʁ\.
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 25237, this pair ranks #341,994 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clair vs clercs
Shared letters: clr. Private to "clair": ai. Private to "clercs": es.
"clair" · 5 letters · shape CCVVC · "clercs" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clair" for "clercs" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clair" vs "clercs" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "clair" / "clercs". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "clair" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clercs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #341,994 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clair" and "clercs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cérès vs clercs". 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 #341,994 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.