explicatif
\ɛks.pli.ka.tif\
The verdict
“explicatif” is a moderately-common French word, ranked #31,955 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #31,955
- frequency rank, French
- 10
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui explique le sens de quelque chose.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | explicatif |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \ɛks.pli.ka.tif\ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #31,955 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “explicatif” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for explicatif is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɛks.pli.ka.tif\. Corpus data places it at rank #31,955 in overall French word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Qui explique le sens de quelque chose.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for explicatif, with forms such as "epxlicatif", "exlpicatif", and "expilcatif". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "explication", "explicative", "explicatifs", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is explicatif, spelled E-X-P-L-I-C-A-T-I-F.
Definition
- 1Qui explique le sens de quelque chose.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: epxlicatif,exlpicatif,expilcatif,explciatif,expliactif,explicaitf,explicatfi,explicatiff,explicattif,expliccatif,explictaif,expllicatif,expplicatif,exxplicatif,xeplicatif
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of explicatif - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "explicatif"?
What does "explicatif" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "explicatif"?
How do you pronounce "explicatif"?
What language does "explicatif" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “explicatif”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is E-X-P-L-I-C-A-T-I-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \ɛks.pli.ka.tif\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “explication” - see the side-by-side comparison. explicatif vs explication
- Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.