Which to use
“clef” and “clin” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,063
- “clef” frequency rank
- #9,619
- “clin” frequency rank
- 15682
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clef | clin |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante orthographique de clé. | Clignement. |
Where the eye mixes clef and clin
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between clef and clin
A purely visual mix-up. clef (\kle\) and clin (\klɛ̃\) 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 15682, 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\. clin is at rank #9,619, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɛ̃\.
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 15682, this pair ranks #391,288 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clef vs clin
Shared letters: cl. Private to "clef": ef. Private to "clin": in.
"clef" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "clin" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "clef" and "clin" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "clef" or "clin"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clef" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clin" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #391,288 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clef" and "clin" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clin vs coon". 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 #391,288 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.