IntentionvsintuitionWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#1,773
“Intention” frequency rank
#10,020
“intuition” frequency rank
11793
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature Intention intuition
Definition Intention. Vision claire et certaine de Dieu telle que les bienheureux l’ont dans le ciel.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Intention and intuition apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
Intention
9 ch
intuition

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. Intention (\ɪntɛnˈʦi̯oːn\) and intuition (\ɛ̃.tɥi.sjɔ̃\) 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 11793, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

Intention is recorded at frequency rank #1,773, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɪntɛnˈʦi̯oːn\. intuition is at rank #10,020, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɥi.sjɔ̃\.

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 11793, this pair ranks #407,786 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of Intention vs intuition

Shared letters: inot. Private to "Intention": e. Private to "intuition": u.

"Intention" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVVC  ·  "intuition" · 9 letters · shape VCCVVCVVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • Intentioninetntion · inntention · inteniton · intenntion · intentino · intentionn · intentoin · intenttion
  • intuitioninntuition · intiution · inttuition · intuiiton · intuitino · intuitionn · intuitoin · intuittion

Frequency comparison

Intention#1,773
intuition#10,020

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "Intention" and "intuition" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (\ɪntɛnˈʦi̯oːn\ versus \ɛ̃.tɥi.sjɔ̃\) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "Intention" or "intuition"?
"Intention" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,773 in our French list, against #10,020 for "intuition". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering Intention vs intuition

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 “Intention” 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