international

/ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/

//ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"international" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“international” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #435. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#435
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
19
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Of or having to do with more than one nation.

Corpus desk

Index EN-international · international · English

international · rank #435 · 19 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #435
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH idea

Nearest frequency peer: idea (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “international”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “international” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

international vs Internationale
86% similar
international vs internationally
87% similar
international vs intentional
85% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for international
PropertyValue
Headwordinternational
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/
Letters13
Frequency rank#435
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “international” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).internationallands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “idea” (#434), “looks” (#436), “I'd” (#433). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around international (IPA /ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #435 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for international, with forms such as "inetrnational", "innternational", and "intenrational". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Internationale", "internationally", "intentional", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From inter- + national. Introduced in modern English by Jeremy Bentham in his An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, 1780. The correct English form is international, spelled I-N-T-E-R-N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Of or having to do with more than one nation.
  2. 2
    Of or having to do with more than one nation.
  3. 3
    Of or having to do with more than one nation.
  4. 4
    Of or having to do with more than one nation.
  5. 5
    Of or concerning the association called the International.
  6. 6
    Independent of national boundaries; common to all people.
  7. 7
    Foreign; of another nation.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how international appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. an international discussion
  2. an international competition

Etymology

From inter- + national. Introduced in modern English by Jeremy Bentham in his An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, 1780.

This word in other languages

internacional(Español)international(Français)international(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inetrnational
  • innternational
  • intenrational
  • interantional
  • internaitonal
  • internatinoal
  • internatioanl
  • internationall
  • internationla
  • internationnal
  • internatoinal
  • internattional
  • internnational
  • interntaional
  • interrnational
  • intrenational
  • intternational
  • itnernational
  • niternational

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of international - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

inetrnational2innternational1intenrational2interantional2internaitonal2internatinoal2internatioanl2internationall1
Edit distance from "international"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "international"?
"international" is spelled I-N-T-E-R-N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/.
What does "international" mean?
As an adjective, "international" means: Of or having to do with more than one nation.
What words are commonly confused with "international"?
"international" is commonly confused with "Internationale", "internationally", "intentional". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "international"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "international" is /ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "international"?
From inter- + national. Introduced in modern English by Jeremy Bentham in his An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, 1780. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "international", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

understanding#1,620investigation#1,831environmental#2,040communication#2,103

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

particularly19 variantsconversation19 variantsorganizations19 variantsdistribution19 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "international". Here's where to go from here.

  • "international" maps to 3 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "Internationale". View pair
  • 19 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #435 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "I" letter cohort. I–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list