Which to use
“infer” is a verb and “intern” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #23,568
- “infer” frequency rank
- #11,727
- “intern” frequency rank
- 35295
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | infer | intern |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To introduce (something) as a reasoned conclusion; to conclude by reasoning or deduction, as from premises or evidence. | A person who is interned, forcibly or voluntarily. |
Where the eye mixes infer and intern
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between infer and intern
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: infer is /ɪnˈfɜː/ while intern is /ɪnˈtɝn/. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35295, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
infer is recorded at frequency rank #23,568, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪnˈfɜː/. intern is at rank #11,727, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪnˈtɝn/.
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 35295, this pair ranks #313,193 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of infer vs intern
Shared letters: einr. Private to "infer": f. Private to "intern": t.
"infer" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "intern" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "infer" and "intern" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "infer" or "intern"?
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 "infer" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intern" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #313,193 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "infer" and "intern" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "infer vs infirm". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #313,193 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.