intensif vs intensive, What's the Difference?

Which to use

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

#16,396
“intensif” frequency rank: #15,417
“intensive” frequency rank: 31813
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	intensif	intensive
Definition	À quoi on fait dépasser la mesure ordinaire.	Féminin singulier de intensif.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intensif and intensive apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

8 ch

intensif

9 ch

intensive

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. intensif (\ɛ̃.tɑ̃.sif\) and intensive (\ɛ̃.tɑ̃.siv\) 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 31813, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intensif is recorded at frequency rank #16,396, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɑ̃.sif\. intensive is at rank #15,417, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɑ̃.siv\.

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 31813, this pair ranks #301,384 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of intensif vs intensive

Shared letters: einst. Private to "intensif": f. Private to "intensive": v.

"intensif" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "intensive" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

intensif ← inetnsif · inntensif · intenisf · intennsif · intensfi · intensiff · intenssif · intesnif
intensive ← inetnsive · inntensive · intenisve · intennsive · intensiev · intensivve · intenssive · intensvie

Frequency comparison

intensif#16,396

intensive#15,417

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intensif" and "intensive" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃.tɑ̃.sif\ versus \ɛ̃.tɑ̃.siv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "intensif" or "intensive"?

"intensive" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #15,417 in our French list, against #16,396 for "intensif". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering intensif vs intensive

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “intensif” entry
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