Which to use
“instinctif” and “instinctive” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #39,356
- “instinctif” frequency rank
- #42,952
- “instinctive” frequency rank
- 82308
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | instinctif | instinctive |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui tient de l’instinct, qui naît de l’instinct. | Féminin singulier de instinctif. |
Where the eye mixes instinctif and instinctive
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses instinctif with instinctive
A purely visual mix-up. instinctif (\ɛ̃s.tɛ̃k.tif\) and instinctive (\ɛ̃s.tɛ̃k.tiv\) 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 82308, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
instinctif is recorded at frequency rank #39,356, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃s.tɛ̃k.tif\. instinctive is at rank #42,952, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃s.tɛ̃k.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 82308, this pair ranks #16,997 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of instinctif vs instinctive
Shared letters: cinst. Private to "instinctif": f. Private to "instinctive": ev.
"instinctif" · 10 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVC · "instinctive" · 11 letters · shape VCCCVCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- instinctif ← innstinctif · insitnctif · insstinctif · insticntif · instincctif · instincitf · instinctfi · instinctiff
- instinctive ← innstinctive · insitnctive · insstinctive · insticntive · instincctive · instincitve · instinctiev · instinctivve
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "instinctif" for "instinctive" ever safe?
Which is more common, "instinctif" or "instinctive"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "instinctif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "instinctive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #16,997 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "instinctif" and "instinctive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "instinctive vs instructive". 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 #16,997 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.