Which to use
“inoffensif” and “inoffensifs” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,248
- “inoffensif” frequency rank
- #35,553
- “inoffensifs” frequency rank
- 58801
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inoffensif | inoffensifs |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n'est pas dangereux, qui ne fait pas de mal. | Masculin pluriel de inoffensif. |
Same sound, different letters: inoffensif vs inoffensifs
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 10 letters. inoffensif runs 10 letters (VCVCCVCCVC) against inoffensifs's 11 (VCVCCVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Ear matches; page differs - inoffensif and inoffensifs
This is the hard kind. inoffensif and inoffensifs are pronounced identically (\i.nɔ.fɑ̃.sif\) and both work as anadjective. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “inoffensif” sits inside “inoffensifs”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58801, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inoffensif is recorded at frequency rank #23,248, classified as anadj, pronounced \i.nɔ.fɑ̃.sif\. inoffensifs is at rank #35,553, tagged as anadj, pronounced \i.nɔ.fɑ̃.sif\.
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 58801, this pair ranks #106,832 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of inoffensif vs inoffensifs
Shared letters: efinos. Private to "inoffensif": -. Private to "inoffensifs": -.
"inoffensif" · 10 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVC · "inoffensifs" · 11 letters · shape VCVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- inoffensif ← infofensif · innoffensif · inofefnsif · inofensif · inoffenisf · inoffennsif · inoffensfi · inoffensiff
- inoffensifs ← infofensifs · innoffensifs · inofefnsifs · inofensifs · inoffenisfs · inoffennsifs · inoffensfis · inoffensiffs
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "inoffensif" and "inoffensifs" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "inoffensif" or "inoffensifs"?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "inoffensif" / "inoffensifs". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "inoffensif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "inoffensifs" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #106,832 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inoffensif" and "inoffensifs" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "inoffensifs vs inoffensive". 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 #106,832 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.