Which to use
“clan” and “clef” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,412
- “clan” frequency rank
- #6,063
- “clef” frequency rank
- 10475
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clan | clef |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Chez les Celtes, tribu formée d’un certain nombre de familles. | Variante orthographique de clé. |
Where the eye mixes clan and clef
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between clan and clef
A purely visual mix-up. clan (\klɑ̃\) and clef (\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 10475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clan is recorded at frequency rank #4,412, classified as anoun, pronounced \klɑ̃\. clef is at rank #6,063, 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 10475, this pair ranks #412,844 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clan vs clef
Shared letters: cl. Private to "clan": an. Private to "clef": ef.
"clan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "clef" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clan" and "clef" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "clan" vs "clef" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "clan" and "clef" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clef" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #412,844 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clan" and "clef" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs clef". 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 #412,844 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.