Which to use
“clef” is a noun and “clic” is an onomatopoeia - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,063
- “clef” frequency rank
- #9,618
- “clic” frequency rank
- 15681
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clef | clic |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante orthographique de clé. | Onomatopée exprimant un bruit sec, un claquement. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set clef and clic apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
clef and clic 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 15681, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clef is recorded at frequency rank #6,063, classified as anoun, pronounced \kle\. clic is at rank #9,618, tagged as anonomatopoeia, pronounced \klik\.
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 15681, this pair ranks #391,294 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clef" and "clic" be used interchangeably?
Remembering clef vs clic
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “clef”; for an onomatopoeia, it's “clic”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “clef” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable