Which to use
“clefs” and “clips” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #8,516
- “clefs” frequency rank
- #10,126
- “clips” frequency rank
- 18642
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clefs | clips |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de clef. | Pluriel de clip. |
Where the eye mixes clefs and clips
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clefs with clips
A purely visual mix-up. clefs (\kle\) and clips (\klip\) 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 18642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clefs is recorded at frequency rank #8,516, classified as anoun, pronounced \kle\. clips is at rank #10,126, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klip\.
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 18642, this pair ranks #377,260 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clefs vs clips
Shared letters: cls. Private to "clefs": ef. Private to "clips": ip.
"clefs" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "clips" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clefs" and "clips" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "clefs" vs "clips" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "clefs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clips" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #377,260 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clefs" and "clips" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "CIP vs clips". 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 #377,260 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.