alcooliquevsalcoolismeWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: alcoolique is a adjective, alcoolisme is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“alcoolique” is an adjective and “alcoolisme” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#10,628
“alcoolique” frequency rank
#17,057
“alcoolisme” frequency rank
27685
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature alcoolique alcoolisme
Definition Qui contient de l’alcool. Maladie produite par la consommation régulière et excessive de boissons alcoolisées.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set alcoolique and alcoolisme apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
alcoolique
10 ch
alcoolisme

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: alcoolique is \al.kɔ.lik\ while alcoolisme is \al.kɔ.lism\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27685, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

alcoolique is recorded at frequency rank #10,628, classified as anadj, pronounced \al.kɔ.lik\. alcoolisme is at rank #17,057, tagged as anoun, pronounced \al.kɔ.lism\.

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 27685, this pair ranks #327,466 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of alcoolique vs alcoolisme

Shared letters: aceilo. Private to "alcoolique": qu. Private to "alcoolisme": ms.

"alcoolique" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCVV  ·  "alcoolisme" · 10 letters · shape VCCVVCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • alcooliqueacloolique · alccoolique · alcolique · alcoloique · alcooilque · alcooliqeu · alcooliqque · alcooliuqe
  • alcoolismeacloolisme · alccoolisme · alcolisme · alcoloisme · alcooilsme · alcoolimse · alcoolisem · alcoolismme

Frequency comparison

alcoolique#10,628
alcoolisme#17,057

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "alcoolique" and "alcoolisme" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "alcoolique" is an adjective and "alcoolisme" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "alcoolique" or "alcoolisme"?
"alcoolique" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,628 in our French list, against #17,057 for "alcoolisme". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering alcoolique vs alcoolisme

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “alcoolique”; for a noun, it's “alcoolisme”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “alcoolique” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list