Which to use
“clerc” and “clés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,093
- “clerc” frequency rank
- #2,666
- “clés” frequency rank
- 18759
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clerc | clés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Personne qui est entrée dans l’état ecclésiastique en recevant la tonsure. | Pluriel de clé. |
Where the eye mixes clerc and clés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses clerc with clés
A purely visual mix-up. clerc (\klɛʁ\) and clés (\kle\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18759, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clerc is recorded at frequency rank #16,093, classified as anoun, pronounced \klɛʁ\. clés is at rank #2,666, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kle\.
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 18759, this pair ranks #376,710 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clerc vs clés
Shared letters: cl. Private to "clerc": er. Private to "clés": sé.
"clerc" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "clés" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- clerc ← cclerc · celrc · clecr · clercc · clerrc · cllerc · clrec · lcerc
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clerc" and "clés" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clerc" or "clés"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "clerc" and "clés" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clerc" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clés" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #376,710 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clerc" and "clés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "cec vs clerc". 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 #376,710 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.