pathologievspathologiqueWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pathologie is a noun, pathologique is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#12,635
“pathologie” frequency rank
#21,418
“pathologique” frequency rank
34053
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pathologie pathologique
Definition Partie de la médecine qui traite de la nature, des causes et des symptômes des maladies. Qui appartient à la pathologie.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pathologie and pathologique apart are highlighted. They share 10 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

10 ch
pathologie
12 ch
pathologique

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pathologie is \pa.tɔ.lɔ.ʒi\ while pathologique is \pa.tɔ.lɔ.ʒik\. 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 34053, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pathologie is recorded at frequency rank #12,635, classified as anoun, pronounced \pa.tɔ.lɔ.ʒi\. pathologique is at rank #21,418, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pa.tɔ.lɔ.ʒik\.

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 34053, this pair ranks #286,484 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pathologie vs pathologique

Shared letters: aeghilopt. Private to "pathologie": -. Private to "pathologique": qu.

"pathologie" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVV  ·  "pathologique" · 12 letters · shape CVCCVCVCVCVV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pathologieapthologie · pahtologie · pathhologie · pathloogie · patholgoie · pathollogie · pathologei · pathologgie
  • pathologiqueapthologique · pahtologique · pathhologique · pathloogique · patholgoique · pathollogique · pathologgique · pathologiqeu

Frequency comparison

pathologie#12,635
pathologique#21,418

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pathologie" and "pathologique" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pathologie" is a noun and "pathologique" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pathologie" or "pathologique"?
"pathologie" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #12,635 in our French list, against #21,418 for "pathologique". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pathologie vs pathologique

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list