clorevscloserWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: clore is a verb, closer is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“clore” is a verb and “closer” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#18,684
“clore” frequency rank
#24,907
“closer” frequency rank
43591
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature clore closer
Definition Fermer, enfermer, mettre dans une enceinte. Finisseur.

Where the spellings diverge

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

5 ch
clore
6 ch
closer

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: clore is \klɔʁ\ while closer is \klo.zœʁ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43591, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

clore is recorded at frequency rank #18,684, classified as averb, pronounced \klɔʁ\. closer is at rank #24,907, tagged as anoun, pronounced \klo.zœʁ\.

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 43591, this pair ranks #216,903 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of clore vs closer

Shared letters: celor. Private to "clore": -. Private to "closer": s.

"clore" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV  ·  "closer" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • clorecclore · cllore · cloer · clorre · clroe · colre · lcore
  • closerccloser · clloser · cloesr · closerr · closre · closser · clsoer · colser

Frequency comparison

clore#18,684
closer#24,907

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "clore" and "closer" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "clore" is a verb and "closer" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "clore" or "closer"?
"clore" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #18,684 in our French list, against #24,907 for "closer". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering clore vs closer

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “clore”; for a noun, it's “closer”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “clore” 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