intravsintroWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: intra is a preposition, intro is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“intra” is a preposition and “intro” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#38,770
“intra” frequency rank
#20,721
“intro” frequency rank
59491
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature intra intro
Definition Dentro de, en el interior de. Introducción.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intra and intro apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
intra
5 ch
intro

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intra is [ˈɪn.traː] while intro is [ˈĩn̪t̪ɾo]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - a in “intra” becomes o in “intro”, and the parts of speech differ too (preposition vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 59491, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

intra is recorded at frequency rank #38,770, classified as aprep, pronounced [ˈɪn.traː]. intro is at rank #20,721, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈĩn̪t̪ɾo].

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 59491, this pair ranks #62,411 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of intra vs intro

Shared letters: inrt. Private to "intra": a. Private to "intro": o.

"intra" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV  ·  "intro" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intrainntra · inrta · intar · intrra · inttra · itnra · nitra
  • introinntro · inrto · intor · intrro · inttro · itnro · nitro

Frequency comparison

intra#38,770
intro#20,721

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "intra" and "intro" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "intra" is a preposition and "intro" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "intra" or "intro"?
"intro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #20,721 in our Spanish list, against #38,770 for "intra". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering intra vs intro

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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