intenciónvsintencionalWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: intención is a noun, intencional is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“intención” is a noun and “intencional” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#1,512
“intención” frequency rank
#18,283
“intencional” frequency rank
19795
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intención intencional
Definition Ánimo de efectuar o de no efectuar algo, propósito. Hecho con intención, a propósito.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intención and intencional apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
intención
11 ch
intencional

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

intención and intencional form a confusable pair in the Spanish index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 2 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 19795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intención is recorded at frequency rank #1,512, classified as anoun, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽnˈsjõn]. intencional is at rank #18,283, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ĩn̪t̪ẽnsjoˈnal].

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 19795, this pair ranks #262,161 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Frequency comparison

intención#1,512
intencional#18,283

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intención" and "intencional" be used interchangeably?
No, "intención" and "intencional" have distinct meanings and cannot be swapped without changing the meaning of a sentence. Understanding the specific definition and context for each word is essential for correct usage.

Remembering intención vs intencional

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “intención”; for an adjective, it's “intencional”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “intención” 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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list