internationalvsinternationaleWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“international” and “internationale” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,774
“international” frequency rank
#1,665
“internationale” frequency rank
3439
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature international internationale
Definition zwischen den Nationen, Nationen-übergreifend Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Flexion des Positivs des Adjektivs international

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set international and internationale apart are highlighted. They share 13 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

13 ch
international
14 ch
internationale

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. international ([ˌɪntɐnat͡si̯oˈnaːl]) and internationale ([ˌɪntɐnat͡si̯oˈnaːlə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “international” sits inside “internationale”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 3439, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

international is recorded at frequency rank #1,774, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌɪntɐnat͡si̯oˈnaːl]. internationale is at rank #1,665, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌɪntɐnat͡si̯oˈnaːlə].

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 3439, this pair ranks #2,000,220 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of international vs internationale

Shared letters: aeilnort. Private to "international": -. Private to "internationale": -.

"international" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVVCVC  ·  "internationale" · 14 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • internationalinetrnational · innternational · intenrational · interantional · internaitonal · internatinoal · internatioanl · internationall
  • internationaleinetrnationale · innternationale · intenrationale · interantionale · internaitonale · internatinoale · internatioanle · internationael

Frequency comparison

international#1,774
internationale#1,665

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "international" and "internationale" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently ([ˌɪntɐnat͡si̯oˈnaːl] versus [ˌɪntɐnat͡si̯oˈnaːlə]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "international" or "internationale"?
"internationale" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,665 in our German list, against #1,774 for "international". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering international vs internationale

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “international” 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