Which to use
“compétition” is a noun and “compétitive” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,906
- “compétition” frequency rank
- #22,524
- “compétitive” frequency rank
- 24430
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | compétition | compétitive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Rivalité entre des personnes ou des organisations pour obtenir une récompense ou un avantage. | Féminin singulier de compétitif. |
Where the eye mixes compétition and compétitive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: compétition vs compétitive
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: compétition is \kɔ̃.pe.ti.sjɔ̃\ while compétitive is \kɔ̃.pe.ti.tiv\. 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 (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24430, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
compétition is recorded at frequency rank #1,906, classified as anoun, pronounced \kɔ̃.pe.ti.sjɔ̃\. compétitive is at rank #22,524, 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 24430, this pair ranks #346,685 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of compétition vs compétitive
Shared letters: cimopté. Private to "compétition": n. Private to "compétitive": ev.
"compétition" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVVC · "compétitive" · 11 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCV
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "compétition" and "compétitive" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "compétition" vs "compétitive" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "compétition" and "compétitive" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "compétition" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "compétitive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #346,685 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "compétition" and "compétitive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "compétitive vs compétitives". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #346,685 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.