Which to use
“claires” is an adjective and “clercs” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #7,288
- “claires” frequency rank
- #24,151
- “clercs” frequency rank
- 31439
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | claires | clercs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de clair. | Pluriel de clerc. |
Same sound, different letters: claires vs clercs
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 4 letters. claires runs 7 letters (CCVVCVC) against clercs's 6 (CCVCCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - claires / clercs
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: claires 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 31439, 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\. 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 31439, this pair ranks #303,767 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of claires vs clercs
Shared letters: celrs. Private to "claires": ai. Private to "clercs": -.
"claires" · 7 letters · shape CCVVCVC · "clercs" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "claires" and "clercs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary French text, does "claires" or "clercs" show up more?
After this comparison
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "claires" 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 #303,767 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "claires" 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 #303,767 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.