compétitifsvscompétitivesWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“compétitifs” and “compétitives” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#19,483
“compétitifs” frequency rank
#36,772
“compétitives” frequency rank
56255
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature compétitifs compétitives
Definition Masculin pluriel de compétitif. Féminin pluriel de compétitif.

Where the eye mixes compétitifs and compétitives

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.

11 ch
compétitifs
12 ch
compétitives

Why the eye confuses compétitifs with compétitives

A purely visual mix-up. compétitifs (\kɔ̃.pe.ti.tif\) and compétitives (\kɔ̃.pe.ti.tiv\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56255, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

compétitifs is recorded at frequency rank #19,483, classified as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.ti.tif\. compétitives is at rank #36,772, tagged as anadj, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.ti.tiv\.

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 56255, this pair ranks #122,248 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of compétitifs vs compétitives

Shared letters: cimopsté. Private to "compétitifs": f. Private to "compétitives": ev.

"compétitifs" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCC  ·  "compétitives" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "compétitifs" and "compétitives" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\kɔ̃.pe.ti.tif\ versus \kɔ̃.pe.ti.tiv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "compétitifs" vs "compétitives" - which ranks higher?
"compétitifs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #19,483 in our French list, against #36,772 for "compétitives". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "compétitifs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "compétitives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #122,248 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "compétitifs" and "compétitives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compétitive vs compétitives". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #122,248 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list