positif
\pɔ.zi.tif\
The verdict
“positif” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,846 in French word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #2,846
- frequency rank, French
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Qui est certain, constant et sûr.
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 | positif |
| Language | French |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | \pɔ.zi.tif\ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #2,846 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “positif” sits in French frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The French entry for positif is 7 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \pɔ.zi.tif\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,846 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 13 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for positif, with forms such as "opsitif", "poistif", and "posiitf". 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, "position", "positive", "positifs", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
No borrowing history is documented for this entry, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct French form is positif, spelled P-O-S-I-T-I-F.
Definition
- 1Qui est certain, constant et sûr.
- 2Qui facilite les choses. Qui va dans le bon sens.
- 3Fondé sur une loi écrite et non pas sur l’institution divine (droit religieux), la coutume (droit civil) ou la jurisprudence.
- 4Qualifie ce qui s’appuie sur les faits, sur l’expérience, sur des notions a posteriori, par opposition à ce qui s’appuie sur des notions a priori.
- 5Qui affirme ou pose une qualité comme existante et réelle. Affirmatif.
- 6Se dit aussi par opposition à négatif.
- 7Plus que zéro, et parfois, zéro ou plus.
- 8Qui appartient à la partie d’un circuit, d’un conducteur, d’un connecteur caractérisée par un déficit d’électrons. → voir électropositif.
- 9Pôle positif : Le pôle d’une pile électrique opposé au pôle négatif. Ce pôle positif absorbe les électrons provenant du circuit relié à la pile.
- 10Tirage ou épreuve, par opposition au négatif.
- 11Ce qui est au premier degré, où la qualité est simplement affirmée, par opposition à comparatif et à superlatif.
- 12Qui doit être posé, s'oppose ici à portatif.
- 13Qui révèle la présence de l'élément qu’on recherche.
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: opsitif,poistif,posiitf,positfi,positiff,posittif,possitif,postiif,ppositif,psoitif
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of positif - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
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 "positif"?
What does "positif" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "positif"?
How do you pronounce "positif"?
What language does "positif" come from?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “positif”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct French spelling is P-O-S-I-T-I-F - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as \pɔ.zi.tif\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “position” - see the side-by-side comparison. positif vs position
- 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.