Which to use
“actif” and “actifs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,606
- “actif” frequency rank
- #3,233
- “actifs” frequency rank
- 5839
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | actif | actifs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui agit ou qui a la vertu d’agir. | Masculin pluriel de actif. |
Same sound, different letters: actif vs actifs
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 5 letters. actif runs 5 letters (VCCVC) against actifs's 6 (VCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Same sound, different spelling - actif / actifs
This is the hard kind. actif and actifs are pronounced identically (\ak.tif\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “actif” sits inside “actifs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5839, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
actif is recorded at frequency rank #2,606, classified as anadj, pronounced \ak.tif\. actifs is at rank #3,233, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ak.tif\.
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 5839, this pair ranks #427,929 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of actif vs actifs
Shared letters: acfit. Private to "actif": -. Private to "actifs": s.
"actif" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "actifs" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "actif" and "actifs" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "actif" or "actifs"?
What to do next
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "actif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "actifs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #427,929 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "actif" and "actifs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "actifs vs Artis". 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 #427,929 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.