international
/ˌɪn.(t)ɚˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/adjective, noun
international is spelled I-N-T-E-R-N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L. The wrong spelling people search most is intenational: about 20 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 588 of all searches for the word. International is an adjective meaning “Between or among nations”.
How many letters and syllables are in international?
| Letters | 13: I-N-T-E-R-N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 229 times per million words; the 437th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 2; the most searched, intenational, about 20 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you spell international?
International is spelled I-N-T-E-R-N-A-T-I-O-N-A-L. 2 wrong spellings are searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 302 of the searches for international in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is international?
International appears 229 times per million words in written English, the 437th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce international?
- UK /ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/
- UK [ˌɪntəˈnæʃ(ə)n(ə)ɫ]
- US /ˌɪn.(t)ɚˈnæʃ.(ə.)n(ə)l/
International has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-international.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of international
- more international comparative
- most international superlative
- int'l
- intl
- intl.
- internationals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does international mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Between or among nations.
an international discussion
- 2
Participated in by two or more nations.
an international competition
- 3
Common to, or affecting, two or more nations.
an international rule
- 4
Serving two or more nations.
an international airport
- 5
Of or concerning the association called the International.
- 6
Independent of national boundaries; common to all people.
The atmosphere is an international resource.
- 7
Foreign; of another nation.
an international student
noun
- 1
AustraliaIrelandUKSomeone who has represented their country in a particular sport.
The United team includes five England internationals.
- 2
AustraliaIrelandA game or contest between two or more nations.
- 3
A transnational organization of political parties of similar ideology.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate international?
Wiktionary records 5 abbreviations of international: Int'l, int, int'l, intl., intnl.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
International in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | international , internationale |
| German | international, zwischenstaatlich |
| Portuguese | internacional |
| Spanish | internacional |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does international come from?
From inter- + national. Introduced in modern English by Jeremy Bentham in his An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation, 1780.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).