Which to use
“clé” and “com” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,987
- “clé” frequency rank
- #3,446
- “com” frequency rank
- 5433
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clé | com |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Instrument de métal que l’on introduit dans une serrure pour ouvrir ou fermer un accès. Ancienne clé à panneton que l'on place et fait tourner dans la serrure d'une porte, d'un coffre, etc. | Communication. |
Where the eye mixes clé and com
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. clé (CCV) and com (CVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Why the eye confuses clé with com
A purely visual mix-up. clé (\kle\) and com (\kɔm\) 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 5433, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clé is recorded at frequency rank #1,987, classified as anoun, pronounced \kle\. com is at rank #3,446, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔm\.
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 5433, this pair ranks #429,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clé vs com
Shared letters: c. Private to "clé": lé. Private to "com": mo.
"clé" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "com" · 3 letters · shape CVC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clé" for "com" ever safe?
Frequency check: "clé" vs "com" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "clé" and "com" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clé" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "com" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #429,024 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clé" and "com" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CCE vs com". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #429,024 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.