inavsintraWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#25,008
“ina” frequency rank
#10,341
“intra” frequency rank
35349
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature ina intra
Definition De sexe féminin. Examen périodique, qui a lieu vers le milieu du semestre universitaire.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ina and intra apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
ina
5 ch
intra

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ina is \ˈi.na\ while intra is \ɛ̃.tʁɑ\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35349, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ina is recorded at frequency rank #25,008, classified as anadj, pronounced \ˈi.na\. intra is at rank #10,341, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tʁɑ\.

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 35349, this pair ranks #277,331 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of ina vs intra

Shared letters: ain. Private to "ina": -. Private to "intra": rt.

"ina" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "intra" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • intrainntra · inrta · intar · intrra · inttra · itnra · nitra

Frequency comparison

ina#25,008
intra#10,341

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ina" and "intra" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ina" is an adjective and "intra" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "ina" or "intra"?
"intra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #10,341 in our French list, against #25,008 for "ina". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ina vs intra

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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