indexvsinterConfusable pair

Which to use

“index” and “inter” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#6,203
“index” frequency rank
#3,928
“inter” frequency rank
10131
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature index inter
Definition Doigt le plus proche du pouce, parce que c’est celui-là dont on se sert ordinairement pour indiquer, pour montrer quelque chose. Utilisé autrefois pour désigner le réseau téléphonique interurbain.

Where the eye mixes index and inter

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. index and inter follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

5 ch
index
5 ch
inter

Visual trap between index and inter

A purely visual mix-up. index (\ɛ̃.dɛks\) and inter (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 10131, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

index is recorded at frequency rank #6,203, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.dɛks\. inter is at rank #3,928, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ\.

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 10131, this pair ranks #414,099 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of index vs inter

Shared letters: ein. Private to "index": dx. Private to "inter": rt.

"index" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC  ·  "inter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • indexidnex · inddex · indexx · indxe · inedx · inndex · nidex
  • interinetr · innter · interr · intre · intter · itner · niter

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "index" and "inter" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɛ̃.dɛks\ versus \ɛ̃.tɛʁ\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "index" vs "inter" - which ranks higher?
"inter" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #3,928 in our French list, against #6,203 for "index". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "index" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "inter" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #414,099 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "index" and "inter" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "index vs indexés". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #414,099 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list