génie vs génique, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“génie” is a noun and “génique” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#2,081
“génie” frequency rank: #48,569
“génique” frequency rank: 50650
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	génie	génique
Definition	Esprit ou démon qui, selon les Romains, présidait à certains lieux, à des villes, etc.	Qui concerne les gènes.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set génie and génique apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch

génie

7 ch

génique

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: génie is \ʒe.ni\ while génique is \ʒe.nik\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50650, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

génie is recorded at frequency rank #2,081, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʒe.ni\. génique is at rank #48,569, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʒe.nik\.

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 50650, this pair ranks #161,007 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of génie vs génique

Shared letters: eginé. Private to "génie": -. Private to "génique": qu.

"génie" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV · "génique" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Frequency comparison

génie#2,081

génique#48,569

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "génie" and "génique" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "génie" is a noun and "génique" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "génie" or "génique"?

"génie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,081 in our French list, against #48,569 for "génique". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering génie vs génique

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “génie”; for an adjective, it's “génique”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “génie” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable