réactifsvsréactiveWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#26,163
“réactifs” frequency rank
#29,958
“réactive” frequency rank
56121
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature réactifs réactive
Definition Masculin pluriel de réactif. Féminin singulier de réactif.

Where the eye mixes réactifs and réactive

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. réactifs (CVVCCVCC) and réactive (CVVCCVCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

8 ch
réactifs
8 ch
réactive

Look-alike desk: réactifs vs réactive

A purely visual mix-up. réactifs (\ʁe.ak.tif\) and réactive (\ʁe.ak.tiv\) 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 56121, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

réactifs is recorded at frequency rank #26,163, classified as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.ak.tif\. réactive is at rank #29,958, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁe.ak.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 56121, this pair ranks #123,132 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of réactifs vs réactive

Shared letters: acirté. Private to "réactifs": fs. Private to "réactive": ev.

"réactifs" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC  ·  "réactive" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCV

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "réactifs" for "réactive" ever safe?
No. They are said differently (\ʁe.ak.tif\ versus \ʁe.ak.tiv\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "réactifs" or "réactive"?
"réactifs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #26,163 in our French list, against #29,958 for "réactive". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Eye-level mix-up between "réactifs" and "réactive" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "réactifs" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "réactive" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #123,132 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "réactifs" and "réactive" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "réactive vs réactiver". Nearby pair

Confusion rank #123,132 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