Which to use
“additifs” and “addition” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #28,434
- “additifs” frequency rank
- #9,776
- “addition” frequency rank
- 38210
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | additifs | addition |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de additif. | Action d’ajouter. |
Where the eye mixes additifs and addition
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. additifs (VCCVCVCC) and addition (VCCVCVVC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: additifs vs addition
A purely visual mix-up. additifs (\a.di.tif\) and addition (\a.di.sjɔ̃\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38210, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
additifs is recorded at frequency rank #28,434, classified as anoun, pronounced \a.di.tif\. addition is at rank #9,776, tagged as anoun, pronounced \a.di.sjɔ̃\.
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 38210, this pair ranks #256,886 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of additifs vs addition
Shared letters: adit. Private to "additifs": fs. Private to "addition": no.
"additifs" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC · "addition" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "additifs" for "addition" ever safe?
Which is more common, "additifs" or "addition"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "additifs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "addition" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #256,886 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "additifs" and "addition" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "additifs vs adoptifs". 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 #256,886 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.