intelligence

\ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\

/\ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\/ noun

The verdict

“intelligence” is a regularly-used French word, ranked #2,721 in French word frequency and used as a noun.

#2,721
frequency rank, French
12
letters
16
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Faculté de comprendre, de ne pas se méprendre sur le sens des mots, la nature des choses et la signification des faits.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

intelligence vs intelligent
83% similar
intelligence vs intelligente
92% similar
intelligence vs intelligents
83% similar

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

Key facts for intelligence
PropertyValue
Headwordintelligence
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\
Letters12
Frequency rank#2,721
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “intelligence” sits in French frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). intelligence lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The French entry for intelligence is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as \ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\. Corpus data places it at rank #2,721 in overall French word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for intelligence, with forms such as "inetlligence", "inntelligence", and "inteligence". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "intelligent", "intelligente", "intelligents", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct French form is intelligence, spelled I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-E-N-C-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Faculté de comprendre, de ne pas se méprendre sur le sens des mots, la nature des choses et la signification des faits.
  2. 2
    Activité volontaire et réfléchie de l’être humain s’exerçant d’une façon normale en vue de la connaissance et s’opposant à l’instinct.
  3. 3
    (Sans épithète) Développement des facultés de comprendre et de raisonner au-dessus de la moyenne.
  4. 4
    Connaissance approfondie, compréhension nette et facile.
  5. 5
    Personnage doué d’intelligence.
  6. 6
    Aptitude, capacité particulière, don pour une activité.
  7. 7
    Adresse, habileté, et s’applique surtout au choix des moyens employés pour obtenir un résultat.
  8. 8
    Généralement précédé d’un adjectif (le plus souvent: bonne) Accord, entente, harmonie, union de sentiments.
  9. 9
    Correspondance, communication entre des personnes qui s’entendent l’une avec l’autre ; connivence.
  10. 10
    Ententes, conventions secrètes.
  11. 11
    À Donjons & Dragons, et d’autres jeux de rôle, caractéristique (valeur chiffrée) représentant la capacité de raisonnement et la mémoire d’un personnage.

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: inetlligence,inntelligence,inteligence,intelilgence,intellgience,intelliegnce,intelligecne,intelligencce,intelligenec,intelligennce,intelliggence,intellignece,intleligence,inttelligence,itnelligence,nitelligence

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of intelligence - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

inetlligence2inntelligence1inteligence1intelilgence2intellgience2intelliegnce2intelligecne2intelligencce1
Edit distance from "intelligence"

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 French corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "intelligence"?
"intelligence" is spelled I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-E-N-C-E. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\.
What does "intelligence" mean?
As a noun, "intelligence" means: Faculté de comprendre, de ne pas se méprendre sur le sens des mots, la nature des choses et la signification des faits.
What words are commonly confused with "intelligence"?
"intelligence" is commonly confused with "intelligent", "intelligente", "intelligents". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "intelligence"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "intelligence" is \ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "intelligence" come from?
"intelligence" is a French word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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.

Using “intelligence”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct French spelling is I-N-T-E-L-L-I-G-E-N-C-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as \ɛ̃.te.li.ʒɑ̃s\ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “intelligent” - see the side-by-side comparison. intelligence vs intelligent
  • Browse more French words and confusable pairs in the same reference. French words
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 FrequencyWords open word-frequency list