int'lvsINTHEWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: int'l is a adjective, INTHE is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“int'l” is an adjective and “INTHE” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,518
“int'l” frequency rank
#48,296
“INTHE” frequency rank
85814
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature int'l INTHE
Definition Abbreviation of international. Initialism of inevitable near-term human extinction.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set int'l and INTHE apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
int'l
5 ch
INTHE

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: int'l is anadjective and INTHEanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 85814, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

int'l is recorded at frequency rank #37,518, classified as anadj. INTHE is at rank #48,296, tagged as anoun.

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 85814, this pair ranks #9,823 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of int'l vs INTHE

Shared letters: int. Private to "int'l": l. Private to "INTHE": eh.

"int'l" · 4 letters · shape VCCC  ·  "INTHE" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • INTHEinhte · innthe · inteh · inthhe · intthe · itnhe · nithe

Frequency comparison

int'l#37,518
INTHE#48,296

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "int'l" and "INTHE" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "int'l" is an adjective and "INTHE" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "int'l" or "INTHE"?
"int'l" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,518 in our English list, against #48,296 for "INTHE". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering int'l vs INTHE

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “int'l”; for a noun, it's “INTHE”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “int'l” 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