relatésvsrelatifsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: relatés is a verb, relatifs is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“relatés” is a verb and “relatifs” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#48,148
“relatés” frequency rank
#8,027
“relatifs” frequency rank
56175
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature relatés relatifs
Definition Participe passé masculin pluriel de relater. Masculin pluriel de relatif.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set relatés and relatifs apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
relatés
8 ch
relatifs

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: relatés is \ʁə.la.te\ while relatifs is \ʁə.la.tif\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56175, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

relatés is recorded at frequency rank #48,148, classified as averb, pronounced \ʁə.la.te\. relatifs is at rank #8,027, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ʁə.la.tif\.

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 56175, this pair ranks #122,749 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of relatés vs relatifs

Shared letters: aelrst. Private to "relatés": é. Private to "relatifs": fi.

"relatés" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "relatifs" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • relatifserlatifs · realtifs · relaitfs · relatfis · relatiffs · relatifss · relatisf · relattifs

Frequency comparison

relatés#48,148
relatifs#8,027

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "relatés" and "relatifs" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "relatés" is a verb and "relatifs" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "relatés" or "relatifs"?
"relatifs" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,027 in our French list, against #48,148 for "relatés". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering relatés vs relatifs

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “relatés”; for an adjective, it's “relatifs”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “relatés” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list