exclusifvsexplosifWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#6,502
“exclusif” frequency rank
#12,378
“explosif” frequency rank
18880
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature exclusif explosif
Definition Qui a force d’exclure. Qui est relatif à l’explosion.

Where the eye mixes exclusif and explosif

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

8 ch
exclusif
8 ch
explosif

Why the eye confuses exclusif with explosif

A purely visual mix-up. exclusif (\ɛks.kly.zif\) and explosif (\ɛks.plo.zif\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18880, 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\. explosif is at rank #12,378, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛks.plo.zif\.

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 18880, this pair ranks #376,124 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of exclusif vs explosif

Shared letters: efilsx. Private to "exclusif": cu. Private to "explosif": op.

"exclusif" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "explosif" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • exclusifecxlusif · excclusif · excllusif · exclsuif · excluisf · exclusfi · exclusiff · exclussif
  • explosifepxlosif · exlposif · expllosif · exploisf · explosfi · explosiff · explossif · explsoif

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "exclusif" for "explosif" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\ɛks.kly.zif\ versus \ɛks.plo.zif\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "exclusif" or "explosif"?
"exclusif" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,502 in our French list, against #12,378 for "explosif". 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 "exclusif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explosif" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #376,124 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "exclusif" and "explosif" 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 #376,124 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