Which to use
“claires” is an adjective and “clerc” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,288
- “claires” frequency rank
- #16,093
- “clerc” frequency rank
- 23381
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | claires | clerc |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de clair. | Personne qui est entrée dans l’état ecclésiastique en recevant la tonsure. |
Same sound, different letters: claires vs clerc
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 3 letters.
Homophone desk: claires vs clerc
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: claires and clerc 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23381, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
claires is recorded at frequency rank #7,288, classified as anadj, pronounced \klɛʁ\. clerc is at rank #16,093, 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 23381, this pair ranks #352,816 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of claires vs clerc
Shared letters: celr. Private to "claires": ais. Private to "clerc": -.
"claires" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "clerc" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "claires" and "clerc" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "claires" vs "clerc" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
"claires" and "clerc" share a sound, keep the gloss open, then jump to the headword or a nearby trap.
- Full dictionary entry for "claires" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clerc" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #352,816 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "claires" and "clerc" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cec vs clerc". 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 #352,816 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.