Which to use
“intentions” and “intonations” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,340
- “intentions” frequency rank
- #49,735
- “intonations” frequency rank
- 54075
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intentions | intonations |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de intention. | Pluriel de intonation. |
Where the eye mixes intentions and intonations
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence. intentions runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVVCC) against intonations's 11 (VCCVCVCVVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Why the eye confuses intentions with intonations
A purely visual mix-up. intentions (\ɛ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\) and intonations (\ɛ̃.tɔ.na.sjɔ̃\) 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 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54075, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intentions is recorded at frequency rank #4,340, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɑ̃.sjɔ̃\. intonations is at rank #49,735, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɔ.na.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 54075, this pair ranks #136,480 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of intentions vs intonations
Shared letters: inost. Private to "intentions": e. Private to "intonations": a.
"intentions" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVVCC · "intonations" · 11 letters · shape VCCVCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- intentions ← inetntions · inntentions · intenitons · intenntions · intentinos · intentionns · intentionss · intentiosn
- intonations ← inntonations · inotnations · intnoations · intoantions · intonaitons · intonatinos · intonationns · intonationss
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "intentions" and "intonations" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "intentions" vs "intonations" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "intentions" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intonations" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #136,480 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intentions" and "intonations" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intonations vs invocations". 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 #136,480 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.