Which to use
“explications” is a noun and “explicatives” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,329
- “explications” frequency rank
- #49,647
- “explicatives” frequency rank
- 53976
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | explications | explicatives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de explication. | Féminin pluriel de explicatif. |
Where the eye mixes explications and explicatives
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: explications vs explicatives
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: explications is \ɛks.pli.ka.sjɔ̃\ while explicatives is \ɛks.pli.ka.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 53976, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
explications is recorded at frequency rank #4,329, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛks.pli.ka.sjɔ̃\. explicatives is at rank #49,647, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛks.pli.ka.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 53976, this pair ranks #137,158 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of explications vs explicatives
Shared letters: aceilpstx. Private to "explications": no. Private to "explicatives": v.
"explications" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVVCC · "explicatives" · 12 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- explications ← epxlications · exlpications · expilcations · explciations · expliactions · explicaitons · explicatinos · explicationns
- explicatives ← epxlicatives · exlpicatives · expilcatives · explciatives · expliactives · explicaitves · explicatievs · explicativess
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "explications" and "explicatives" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "explications" or "explicatives"?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "explications" and "explicatives" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "explications" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "explicatives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #137,158 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "explications" and "explicatives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explicatifs vs explicatives". 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 #137,158 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.