internationalvsInternationaleWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: international is a adjective, Internationale is a name, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“international” is an adjective and “Internationale” is a name - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#435
“international” frequency rank
#33,288
“Internationale” frequency rank
33723
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature international Internationale
Definition Of or having to do with more than one nation. A general left-wing anthem for solidarity and emancipation of the working class, dating back to the 19th century.

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

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: international is /ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/ while Internationale is /ˌɪn.tɚˌnæ.ʃənˈæl/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “international” sits inside “Internationale”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs name), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 33723, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

international is recorded at frequency rank #435, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/. Internationale is at rank #33,288, tagged as aname, pronounced /ˌɪn.tɚˌnæ.ʃənˈæl/.

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 33723, this pair ranks #326,950 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

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#435
Internationale#33,288

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "international" and "Internationale" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "international" is an adjective and "Internationale" a name, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "international" or "Internationale"?
"international" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #435 in our English list, against #33,288 for "Internationale". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering international vs Internationale

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “international”; for a name, it's “Internationale”.
  • 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