Which to use
“spécifie” is a verb and “spécifique” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #34,318
- “spécifie” frequency rank
- #3,226
- “spécifique” frequency rank
- 37544
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spécifie | spécifique |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Première personne du singulier du présent de l’indicatif de spécifier. | [Postposé] Qui est propre à quelque chose ou à quelqu’un en particulier. |
Where the eye mixes spécifie and spécifique
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. spécifie runs 8 letters (CCVCVCVV) against spécifique's 10 (CCVCVCVCVV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses spécifie with spécifique
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: spécifie is \spe.si.fi\ while spécifique is \spe.si.fik\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 37544, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spécifie is recorded at frequency rank #34,318, classified as averb, pronounced \spe.si.fi\. spécifique is at rank #3,226, tagged as anadj, pronounced \spe.si.fik\.
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 37544, this pair ranks #261,743 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of spécifie vs spécifique
Shared letters: cefipsé. Private to "spécifie": -. Private to "spécifique": qu.
"spécifie" · 8 letters · shape CCVCVCVV · "spécifique" · 10 letters · shape CCVCVCVCVV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "spécifie" for "spécifique" ever safe?
Which is more common, "spécifie" or "spécifique"?
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 "spécifie" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spécifique" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #261,743 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spécifie" and "spécifique" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spécifie vs spécifier". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #261,743 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.