Which to use
“effectifs” and “effectives” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,448
- “effectifs” frequency rank
- #37,305
- “effectives” frequency rank
- 42753
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | effectifs | effectives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de effectif. | Féminin pluriel de effectif. |
Where the eye mixes effectifs and effectives
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses effectifs with effectives
A purely visual mix-up. effectifs (\e.fɛk.tif\) and effectives (\e.fɛk.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 42753, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
effectifs is recorded at frequency rank #5,448, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.fɛk.tif\. effectives is at rank #37,305, tagged as anadj, pronounced \e.fɛk.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 42753, this pair ranks #223,191 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of effectifs vs effectives
Shared letters: cefist. Private to "effectifs": -. Private to "effectives": v.
"effectifs" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "effectives" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- effectifs ← efectifs · efefctifs · effcetifs · effecctifs · effecitfs · effectfis · effectiffs · effectifss
- effectives ← efectives · efefctives · effcetives · effecctives · effecitves · effectievs · effectivess · effectivse
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "effectifs" and "effectives" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "effectifs" or "effectives"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "effectifs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "effectives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #223,191 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "effectifs" and "effectives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "effective vs effectives". 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 #223,191 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.