Which to use
“clans” and “clash” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #12,127
- “clans” frequency rank
- #17,377
- “clash” frequency rank
- 29504
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clans | clash |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de clan. | Conflit ; dispute. |
Where the eye mixes clans and clash
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: clans vs clash
A purely visual mix-up. clans (\klɑ̃\) and clash (\klaʃ\) 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 29504, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clans is recorded at frequency rank #12,127, classified as anoun, pronounced \klɑ̃\. clash is at rank #17,377, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klaʃ\.
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 29504, this pair ranks #316,264 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clans vs clash
Shared letters: acls. Private to "clans": n. Private to "clash": h.
"clans" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "clash" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clans" for "clash" ever safe?
Which is more common, "clans" or "clash"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clans" and "clash" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clans" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clash" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #316,264 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clans" and "clash" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "chah vs clash". 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 #316,264 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.