clinsvscrissWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#29,695
“clins” frequency rank
#41,207
“criss” frequency rank
70902
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clins criss
Definition Pluriel de clin. Poignard dont la lame est parfois en zigzag à l’usage des Malais.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set clins and criss apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
clins
5 ch
criss

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. clins (\klɛ̃\) and criss (\kʁis\) 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 70902, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clins is recorded at frequency rank #29,695, classified as anoun, pronounced \klɛ̃\. criss is at rank #41,207, tagged as anoun, pronounced \kʁis\.

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 70902, this pair ranks #49,546 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of clins vs criss

Shared letters: cis. Private to "clins": ln. Private to "criss": r.

"clins" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC  ·  "criss" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clinscclins · cilns · clinns · clinss · clisn · cllins · clnis · lcins
  • crissccriss · cirss · crriss · crsis · rciss

Frequency comparison

clins#29,695
criss#41,207

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clins" and "criss" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\klɛ̃\ versus \kʁis\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "clins" or "criss"?
"clins" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,695 in our French list, against #41,207 for "criss". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering clins vs criss

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 “clins” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list