Which to use
“clercs” and “clés” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #24,151
- “clercs” frequency rank
- #2,666
- “clés” frequency rank
- 26817
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clercs | clés |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de clerc. | Pluriel de clé. |
Where the eye mixes clercs and clés
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: clercs vs clés
A purely visual mix-up. clercs (\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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 26817, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clercs is recorded at frequency rank #24,151, 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 26817, this pair ranks #332,686 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clercs vs clés
Shared letters: cls. Private to "clercs": er. Private to "clés": é.
"clercs" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC · "clés" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- clercs ← cclercs · celrcs · clecrs · clerccs · clercss · clerrcs · clersc · cllercs
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clercs" and "clés" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "clercs" or "clés"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "clercs" and "clés" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "clercs" 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 #332,686 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clercs" and "clés" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Cérès vs clercs". 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 #332,686 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.