explosifsvsexplosivesConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#10,321
“explosifs” frequency rank
#30,152
“explosives” frequency rank
40473
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature explosifs explosives
Definition Masculin pluriel de explosif. Féminin pluriel de explosif.

Where the eye mixes explosifs and explosives

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.

9 ch
explosifs
10 ch
explosives

Look-alike desk: explosifs vs explosives

A purely visual mix-up. explosifs (\ɛks.plo.zif\) and explosives (\ɛks.plo.ziv\) 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 40473, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

explosifs is recorded at frequency rank #10,321, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛks.plo.zif\. explosives is at rank #30,152, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛks.plo.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 40473, this pair ranks #240,224 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of explosifs vs explosives

Shared letters: eilopsx. Private to "explosifs": f. Private to "explosives": v.

"explosifs" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCC  ·  "explosives" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • explosifsepxlosifs · exlposifs · expllosifs · exploisfs · explosfis · explosiffs · explosifss · explosisf
  • explosivesepxlosives · exlposives · expllosives · exploisves · explosievs · explosivess · explosivse · explosivves

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "explosifs" for "explosives" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\ɛks.plo.zif\ versus \ɛks.plo.ziv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "explosifs" or "explosives"?
"explosifs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,321 in our French list, against #30,152 for "explosives". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "explosifs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "explosives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #240,224 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "explosifs" and "explosives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "explosive vs explosives". 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 #240,224 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