Which to use
“exclusif” is an adjective and “exclusive” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,502
- “exclusif” frequency rank
- #8,848
- “exclusive” frequency rank
- 15350
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exclusif | exclusive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui a force d’exclure. | En droit canon, vote du conclave écartant un candidat au pontificat. |
Where the eye mixes exclusif and exclusive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. exclusif runs 8 letters (VCCCVCVC) against exclusive's 9 (VCCCVCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: exclusif vs exclusive
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: exclusif is \ɛks.kly.zif\ while exclusive is \ɛk.skly.ziv\. 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15350, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exclusif is recorded at frequency rank #6,502, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛks.kly.zif\. exclusive is at rank #8,848, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛk.skly.ziv\.
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 15350, this pair ranks #392,746 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of exclusif vs exclusive
Shared letters: ceilsux. Private to "exclusif": f. Private to "exclusive": v.
"exclusif" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC · "exclusive" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "exclusif" and "exclusive" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "exclusif" or "exclusive"?
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 "exclusif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exclusive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #392,746 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "exclusif" and "exclusive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "excluait vs exclusif". 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 #392,746 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.