clochersvsclochesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#30,097
“clochers” frequency rank
#11,369
“cloches” frequency rank
41466
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clochers cloches
Definition Pluriel de clocher. Pluriel de cloche (instrument).

Where the eye mixes clochers and cloches

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. clochers runs 8 letters (CCVCCVCC) against cloches's 7 (CCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.

8 ch
clochers
7 ch
cloches

Look-alike desk: clochers vs cloches

A purely visual mix-up. clochers (\klɔ.ʃe\) and cloches (\klɔʃ\) 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 41466, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clochers is recorded at frequency rank #30,097, classified as anoun, pronounced \klɔ.ʃe\. cloches is at rank #11,369, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klɔʃ\.

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 41466, this pair ranks #232,874 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of clochers vs cloches

Shared letters: cehlos. Private to "clochers": r. Private to "cloches": -.

"clochers" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC  ·  "cloches" · 7 letters · shape CCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clochers ← cclochers · clcohers · cllochers · clocchers · clocehrs · clocherrs · clocherss · clochesr
  • cloches ← ccloches · clcohes · clloches · clocches · clocehs · clochess · clochhes · clochse

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "clochers" and "cloches" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\klɔ.ʃe\ versus \klɔʃ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "clochers" vs "cloches" - which ranks higher?
"cloches" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #11,369 in our French list, against #30,097 for "clochers". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "clochers" and "cloches" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "clochers" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "cloches" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #232,874 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "clochers" and "cloches" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clochers vs couchers". 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 #232,874 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list