Which to use
“clichés” is an adjective and “clocher” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,477
- “clichés” frequency rank
- #14,224
- “clocher” frequency rank
- 20701
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clichés | clocher |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de cliché. | Bâtiment de maçonnerie ou de charpente dans lequel sont suspendues les cloches et qui est ordinairement élevé au-dessus d’une église. |
Where the eye mixes clichés and clocher
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. clichés and clocher follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses clichés with clocher
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clichés is \kli.ʃe\ while clocher is \klɔ.ʃe\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 3 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20701, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clichés is recorded at frequency rank #6,477, classified as anadj, pronounced \kli.ʃe\. clocher is at rank #14,224, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɔ.ʃe\.
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 20701, this pair ranks #366,939 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of clichés vs clocher
Shared letters: chl. Private to "clichés": isé. Private to "clocher": eor.
"clichés" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC · "clocher" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- clocher ← cclocher · clcoher · cllocher · cloccher · clocehr · clocherr · clochher · clochre
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "clichés" and "clocher" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary French text, does "clichés" or "clocher" show up more?
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 "clichés" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clocher" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #366,939 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clichés" and "clocher" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clocher vs cochet". 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 #366,939 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.