A large number of French adjectives ending in -ique line up neatly with English adjectives ending in “-ical”. Électrique matches “electrical”, pratique matches “practical”, and politique matches “political”. The match is so regular that a learner can often guess the French word for an English “-ical” adjective simply by dropping the “-al” and adjusting the spelling.

The direction of borrowing is not quite what the pattern suggests, though. Most of these French words go back directly to Latin adjectives ending in -icus, brought into French centuries ago with the ending -ique. English later built its own “-ical” adjectives by adding “-al” onto an existing “-ic” form, often one that had itself arrived from French or Latin. So French and English mostly share a common Latin ancestor rather than one language lending the word to the other. That said, in some newer fields, particularly technology, business and science, French has picked up English “-ical” terms directly and reshaped them with the familiar -ique ending, since French grammar has no natural place for a form like “-ical”.

Whichever way the borrowing runs, the correspondence is useful and reliable. Below are the main groups of examples, arranged by subject.

Everyday adjectives

• Pratique – “practical”
• Critique – “critical”
• Identique – “identical”
• Typique – “typical”
• Atypique – “atypical”
• Cynique – “cynical”
• Comique – “comical”
• Tragique – “tragical”
• Magique – “magical”
• Mystique – “mystical”
• Ironique – “ironical”
• Logique – “logical”

Science and technology

• Électrique – “electrical”
• Chimique – “chemical”
• Mécanique – “mechanical”
• Mathématique – “mathematical”
• Technique – “technical”
• Technologique – “technological”
• Numérique – “numerical”
• Statique – “statical”
• Automatique – “automatical”
• Cyclique – “cyclical”
• Symétrique – “symmetrical”
• Asymétrique – “asymmetrical”
• Géométrique – “geometrical”
• Statistique – “statistical”

Medicine and biology

• Biologique – “biological”
• Physiologique – “physiological”
• Pathologique – “pathological”
• Génétique – “genetical”
• Clinique – “clinical”
• Chronique – “chronical”
• Botanique – “botanical”
• Topique – “topical”

Arts, culture and ideas

• Poétique – “poetical”
• Dramatique – “dramatical”
• Esthétique – “aesthetical”
• Mythique – “mythical”
• Fantastique – “fantastical”
• Rhétorique – “rhetorical”
• Philosophique – “philosophical”
• Théorique – “theoretical”
• Hypothétique – “hypothetical”
• Analytique – “analytical”
• Biblique – “biblical”

Politics, economics and society

• Politique – “political”
• Économique – “economical”
• Historique – “historical”
• Géographique – “geographical”
• Diplomatique – “diplomatical”
• Hiérarchique – “hierarchical”
• Catégorique – “categorical”
• Systématique – “systematical”
• Problématique – “problematical”
• Éthique – “ethical”
• Tactique – “tactical”
• Chronologique – “chronological”
• Écologique – “ecological”
• Alphabétique – “alphabetical”
• Logistique – “logistical”

A few points worth noting

Some pairs are close in spelling but not identical in meaning. Économique covers both “economic” and “economical” in French, so context decides which English word fits best. Politique means “political” as an adjective, but also “politics” or “policy” as a noun. Topique is mostly used in a medical sense, for something applied to one part of the body, and is far less common than “topical” is in English. Chronique also works as a noun in French, where it means “chronicle” or a regular newspaper column, alongside its use as an adjective.

Not every English “-ical” word has a matching French -ique form. “Medical” stays as médical in French, and “radical”, “vertical” and “local” all keep an -al ending rather than switching to -ique. The pattern is strong but not universal, so each word is worth checking rather than assumed.

Summary

French adjectives ending in -ique regularly match English adjectives ending in “-ical”, across everyday language, science, medicine, the arts and politics. Most of these pairs share a common root in Latin rather than one being borrowed from the other, though French has adapted some more recent English “-ical” terms directly. A handful of English “-ical” words, such as “medical” and “radical”, keep an -al ending in French instead of switching to -ique, so the pattern is a strong guide rather than a fixed rule.