Which to use
“positifs” and “positives” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,543
- “positifs” frequency rank
- #8,287
- “positives” frequency rank
- 14830
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | positifs | positives |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Masculin pluriel de positif. | Féminin pluriel de positif. |
Where the eye mixes positifs and positives
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence. positifs runs 8 letters (CVCVCVCC) against positives's 9 (CVCVCVCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses positifs with positives
A purely visual mix-up. positifs (\pɔ.zi.tif\) and positives (\pɔ.zi.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 14830, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
positifs is recorded at frequency rank #6,543, classified as anadj, pronounced \pɔ.zi.tif\. positives is at rank #8,287, tagged as anadj, pronounced \pɔ.zi.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 14830, this pair ranks #395,031 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of positifs vs positives
Shared letters: iopst. Private to "positifs": f. Private to "positives": ev.
"positifs" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "positives" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "positifs" for "positives" ever safe?
Which is more common, "positifs" or "positives"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "positifs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "positives" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,031 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "positifs" and "positives" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "politics vs positifs". 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 #395,031 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.