Which to use
“clef” and “cole” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,063
- “clef” frequency rank
- #11,932
- “cole” frequency rank
- 17995
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clef | cole |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Variante orthographique de clé. | Bile. |
Letter map: clef vs cole
Shared letters muted; letters that set clef and cole apart highlighted. Shared run: 3.
Spelling & dictionary notes on clef vs cole
clef and cole are indexed as a confusable French pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17995, 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\. cole is at rank #11,932, tagged as anoun.
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 17995, this pair ranks #380,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clef vs cole
Shared letters: cel. Private to "clef": f. Private to "cole": o.
"clef" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "cole" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clef" and "cole" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clef" or "cole"?
Useful next steps
You've compared "clef" and "cole". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "clef" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cole" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #380,482 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clef" and "cole" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cole vs conde". 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 #380,482 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.