Which to use
“interest” and “intérêt” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #36,908
- “interest” frequency rank
- #616
- “intérêt” frequency rank
- 37524
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | interest | intérêt |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Intérêt. | Ce qui importe, ce qui convient, en quelque manière que ce soit, à l’utilité, à l’avantage d’une personne ou d’une collectivité, d’un individu ou d’une personne morale, en ce qui concerne soit leur bien physique et matériel, soit leur bien intellectuel et moral, soit leur considération et leur honneur. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set interest and intérêt apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. interest (\ˈɪn.tɹɪst\) and intérêt (\ɛ̃.te.ʁɛ\) 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 37524, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
interest is recorded at frequency rank #36,908, classified as anoun, pronounced \ˈɪn.tɹɪst\. intérêt is at rank #616, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.te.ʁɛ\.
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 37524, this pair ranks #261,891 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of interest vs intérêt
Shared letters: inrt. Private to "interest": es. Private to "intérêt": éê.
"interest" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCC · "intérêt" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- interest ← inetrest · innterest · inteerst · interesst · interestt · interrest · interset · intreest
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "interest" and "intérêt" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "interest" or "intérêt"?
Remembering interest vs intérêt
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 “interest” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable