Which to use
“incompétent” and “incompétente” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,761
- “incompétent” frequency rank
- #41,836
- “incompétente” frequency rank
- 62597
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | incompétent | incompétente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n’est pas compétent. | Féminin singulier de incompétent. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set incompétent and incompétente apart are highlighted. They share 11 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. incompétent (\ɛ̃.kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃\) and incompétente (\ɛ̃.kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃t\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “incompétent” sits inside “incompétente”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 62597, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
incompétent is recorded at frequency rank #20,761, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.kɔ̃.pe.tɑ̃\. 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 62597, this pair ranks #86,283 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of incompétent vs incompétente
Shared letters: ceimnopté. Private to "incompétent": -. Private to "incompétente": -.
"incompétent" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCC · "incompétente" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVCCV
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "incompétent" and "incompétente" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "incompétent" or "incompétente"?
Remembering incompétent vs incompétente
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “incompétent” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable