clicsvsclinsWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“clics” and “clins” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#16,323
“clics” frequency rank
#29,695
“clins” frequency rank
46018
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clics clins
Definition Pluriel de clic. Pluriel de clin.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set clics and clins apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
clics
5 ch
clins

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. clics (\klik\) and clins (\klɛ̃\) 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 a single letter - c in “clics” becomes n in “clins”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46018, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clics is recorded at frequency rank #16,323, classified as anoun, pronounced \klik\. clins is at rank #29,695, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɛ̃\.

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 46018, this pair ranks #198,259 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of clics vs clins

Shared letters: cils. Private to "clics": -. Private to "clins": n.

"clics" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "clins" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clicscclics · cilcs · clcis · cliccs · clicss · clisc · cllics · lcics
  • clinscclins · cilns · clinns · clinss · clisn · cllins · clnis · lcins

Frequency comparison

clics#16,323
clins#29,695

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clics" and "clins" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\klik\ versus \klɛ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "clics" or "clins"?
"clics" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #16,323 in our French list, against #29,695 for "clins". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering clics vs clins

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “clics” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list