magiquevsmodiqueConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#3,272
“magique” frequency rank
#26,444
“modique” frequency rank
29716
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature magique modique
Definition Relatif à la magie. Qui est peu considérable pécuniairement ; de peu de valeur.

Where the eye mixes magique and modique

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. magique and modique follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCVCVV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

7 ch
magique
7 ch
modique

Visual trap between magique and modique

A purely visual mix-up. magique (\ma.ʒik\) and modique (\mɔ.dik\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29716, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

magique is recorded at frequency rank #3,272, classified as anadj, pronounced \ma.ʒik\. modique is at rank #26,444, tagged as anadj, pronounced \mɔ.dik\.

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 29716, this pair ranks #314,943 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of magique vs modique

Shared letters: eimqu. Private to "magique": ag. Private to "modique": do.

"magique" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV  ·  "modique" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • magique ← amgique · maggique · magiqeu · magiqque · magiuqe · magqiue · maigque · mgaique
  • modique ← mdoique · mmodique · moddique · modiqeu · modiqque · modiuqe · modqiue · moidque

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "magique" and "modique" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (\ma.ʒik\ versus \mɔ.dik\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "magique" vs "modique" - which ranks higher?
"magique" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,272 in our French list, against #26,444 for "modique". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "magique" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "modique" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #314,943 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "magique" and "modique" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "mélodique vs modique". 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 #314,943 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