Which to use
“progressif” is an adjective and “progression” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,052
- “progressif” frequency rank
- #4,521
- “progression” frequency rank
- 14573
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | progressif | progression |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui porte en avant, qui relève du progrès. | Marche en avant. |
Where the eye mixes progressif and progression
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses progressif with progression
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: progressif is \pʁɔ.ɡʁɛ.sif\ while progression is \pʁɔ.ɡʁɛ.sjɔ̃\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14573, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
progressif is recorded at frequency rank #10,052, classified as anadj, pronounced \pʁɔ.ɡʁɛ.sif\. progression is at rank #4,521, tagged as anoun, pronounced \pʁɔ.ɡʁɛ.sjɔ̃\.
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 14573, this pair ranks #396,087 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of progressif vs progression
Shared letters: egioprs. Private to "progressif": f. Private to "progression": n.
"progressif" · 10 letters · shape CCVCCVCCVC · "progression" · 11 letters · shape CCVCCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- progressif ← porgressif · pprogressif · prgoressif · progerssif · proggressif · progresif · progresisf · progressfi
- progression ← porgression · pprogression · prgoression · progerssion · proggression · progresion · progresison · progressino
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "progressif" for "progression" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "progressif" or "progression" show up more?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "progressif" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "progression" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #396,087 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "progressif" and "progression" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "progressif vs progressifs". 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 #396,087 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.