-ique

\ik\

/\ik\/ suffix

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“-ique” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a suffix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Suffixe utilisé pour la constitution d’un adjectif à partir d’un nom et signifiant « relatif à cette chose, propre à cette chose ».

Corpus desk

Index FR-ique · -ique · French

-ique · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "-" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for -ique
PropertyValue
Headword-ique
LanguageFrench
Part of speechSuffix
IPA\ik\
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “-ique” sits in French frequency

-ique falls outside the top-100,000 ranked French words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

-ique is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as asuffix, transcribed \ik\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for -ique in our index, a sign its spelling follows regular French conventions. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is -ique, spelled --I-Q-U-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Suffixe utilisé pour la constitution d’un adjectif à partir d’un nom et signifiant « relatif à cette chose, propre à cette chose ».
  2. 2
    Suffixe utilisé pour décrire une molécule possédant un atome d’hydrogène mobile, lui conférant des propriétés acides (acide acétique, acide sulfurique, acide chlorhydrique...). Utilisé aussi pour les alcools (alcool éthylique, alcool propylique...), les anhydrides (anhydride carbonique…), les éthers (éther éthylique…) et autres, pour décrire des produits résultant de la transformation d’un acide.
  3. 3
    Suffixe utilisé pour la constitution d’un substantif, soit par substantivation de l’adjectif (→ voir botanique et politique) soit sur une base propre.

Synonyms

-al-aque-eux-ien

Antonyms

-eux

This word in other languages

-ic(English)-isch(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "-ique"?
"-ique" is spelled --I-Q-U-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ik\.
What does "-ique" mean?
As a suffix, "-ique" means: Suffixe utilisé pour la constitution d’un adjectif à partir d’un nom et signifiant « relatif à cette chose, propre à cette chose ».
How do you pronounce "-ique"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "-ique" is \ik\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "-ique" come from?
"-ique" is a French word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.
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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list