Which to use
“clé” and “cri” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,987
- “clé” frequency rank
- #5,649
- “cri” frequency rank
- 7636
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clé | cri |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Action de crier, son perçant ou puissant émis par la voix d’un être humain ou d’un animal. |
Where the eye mixes clé and cri
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence. clé and cri follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses clé with cri
A purely visual mix-up. clé (\kle\) and cri (\kʁi\) 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 7636, 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\. cri is at rank #5,649, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁi\.
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 7636, this pair ranks #422,585 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clé vs cri
Shared letters: c. Private to "clé": lé. Private to "cri": ir.
"clé" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "cri" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clé" and "cri" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clé" or "cri"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clé" and "cri" 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 "cri" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #422,585 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clé" and "cri" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ciro vs cri". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #422,585 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.