Which to use
“incompétence” is a noun and “incompétente” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,616
- “incompétence” frequency rank
- #41,836
- “incompétente” frequency rank
- 55452
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | incompétence | incompétente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Défaut, manque de compétence. | Féminin singulier de incompétent. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incompétence and incompétente apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: incompétence is \ɛ̃.kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃s\ while incompétente is \ɛ̃.kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃t\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - c in “incompétence” becomes t in “incompétente”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55452, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
incompétence is recorded at frequency rank #13,616, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃s\. incompétente is at rank #41,836, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃t\.
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 55452, this pair ranks #127,345 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of incompétence vs incompétente
Shared letters: ceimnopté. Private to "incompétence": -. Private to "incompétente": -.
"incompétence" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCV · "incompétente" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "incompétence" and "incompétente" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "incompétence" or "incompétente"?
Remembering incompétence vs incompétente
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “incompétence”; for an adjective, it's “incompétente”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “incompétence” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable