Which to use
“intermittent” is an adjective and “intermittente” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #31,559
- “intermittent” frequency rank
- #40,818
- “intermittente” frequency rank
- 72377
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intermittent | intermittente |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui est discontinu et reprend par intervalles. | Femme qui ne travaille pas de façon continue. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set intermittent and intermittente apart are highlighted. They share 12 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: intermittent is \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\ while intermittente is \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃t\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “intermittent” sits inside “intermittente”, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 72377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intermittent is recorded at frequency rank #31,559, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃\. intermittente is at rank #40,818, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.mi.tɑ̃t\.
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 72377, this pair ranks #44,227 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of intermittent vs intermittente
Shared letters: eimnrt. Private to "intermittent": -. Private to "intermittente": -.
"intermittent" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCC · "intermittente" · 13 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- intermittent ← inetrmittent · inntermittent · intemrittent · interimttent · intermitent · intermitetnt · intermittennt · intermittentt
- intermittente ← inetrmittente · inntermittente · intemrittente · interimttente · intermitente · intermitetnte · intermittenet · intermittennte
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "intermittent" and "intermittente" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "intermittent" or "intermittente"?
Remembering intermittent vs intermittente
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “intermittent”; for a noun, it's “intermittente”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “intermittent” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable