bénéfice vs bénéfique, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#3,664
“bénéfice” frequency rank: #10,285
“bénéfique” frequency rank: 13949
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	bénéfice	bénéfique
Definition	Gain ou profit.	Qui fait du bien, qui a une influence favorable.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set bénéfice and bénéfique apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

bénéfice

9 ch

bénéfique

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: bénéfice is \be.ne.fis\ while bénéfique is \be.ne.fik\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13949, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

bénéfice is recorded at frequency rank #3,664, classified as anoun, pronounced \be.ne.fis\. bénéfique is at rank #10,285, tagged as anadj, pronounced \be.ne.fik\.

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 13949, this pair ranks #398,831 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of bénéfice vs bénéfique

Shared letters: befiné. Private to "bénéfice": c. Private to "bénéfique": qu.

"bénéfice" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCV · "bénéfique" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

bénéfice#3,664

bénéfique#10,285

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "bénéfice" and "bénéfique" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "bénéfice" is a noun and "bénéfique" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "bénéfice" or "bénéfique"?

"bénéfice" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,664 in our French list, against #10,285 for "bénéfique". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering bénéfice vs bénéfique

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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