Which to use
“clé” and “con” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,987
- “clé” frequency rank
- #1,056
- “con” frequency rank
- 3043
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clé | con |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Sexe de la femme. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set clé and con apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
clé and con form a confusable pair in the French index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3043, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Side-by-side the two words carry different dictionary signatures. clé is recorded at frequency rank #1,987, classified as anoun, pronounced \kle\. con is at rank #1,056, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃\. When the two words belong to different parts of speech, sentence grammar alone usually resolves the confusion; when they share a part of speech, only semantic context separates them, which is why the pair earns a dedicated lookup page.
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. Automated spell-checkers cannot flag confusable substitution because every member of the pair is a valid dictionary word, only the writer, or a grammar/context tool, can confirm that the chosen spelling matches the intended meaning. PlainSpell's confusable index exists precisely to make that contextual choice explicit.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clé" and "con" be used interchangeably?
Where can I learn more about commonly confused words?
Remembering clé vs con
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “clé” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable
Nearby confusable pairs
Other commonly confused French word pairs you may also want to compare:
Cite this page
Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:
PlainSpell, “clé vs con, French confusable word comparison” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/fr/vs/cle-vs-con