Which to use
“inter” is a noun and “interné” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #3,928
- “inter” frequency rank
- #31,086
- “interné” frequency rank
- 35014
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | inter | interné |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Utilisé autrefois pour désigner le réseau téléphonique interurbain. | Contraint à résider dans une certaine localité sans permission d’en sortir. |
Where the eye mixes inter and interné
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses inter with interné
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: inter is \ɛ̃.tɛʁ\ while interné is \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.ne\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “inter” sits inside “interné”, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35014, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
inter is recorded at frequency rank #3,928, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ\. interné is at rank #31,086, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.ne\.
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 35014, this pair ranks #279,775 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of inter vs interné
Shared letters: einrt. Private to "inter": -. Private to "interné": é.
"inter" · 5 letters · shape VCCVC · "interné" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- inter ← inetr · innter · interr · intre · intter · itner · niter
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "inter" for "interné" ever safe?
Frequency check: "inter" vs "interné" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "inter" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "interné" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #279,775 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "inter" and "interné" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "interné vs interner". 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 #279,775 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.