Which to use
“intersection” and “intervention” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,236
- “intersection” frequency rank
- #1,664
- “intervention” frequency rank
- 12900
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intersection | intervention |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Le point où deux lignes se coupent l’une l’autre, la ligne où deux surfaces se coupent réciproquement. | Action d’intervenir. |
Where the eye mixes intersection and intervention
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 10 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses intersection with intervention
A purely visual mix-up. intersection (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛk.sjɔ̃\) and intervention (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.vɑ̃.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 12900, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intersection is recorded at frequency rank #11,236, classified as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.sɛk.sjɔ̃\. intervention is at rank #1,664, tagged as anoun, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.vɑ̃.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 12900, this pair ranks #403,282 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of intersection vs intervention
Shared letters: einort. Private to "intersection": cs. Private to "intervention": v.
"intersection" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVVC · "intervention" · 12 letters · shape VCCVCCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- intersection ← inetrsection · inntersection · interesction · interrsection · interscetion · intersecction · interseciton · intersectino
- intervention ← inetrvention · inntervention · interevntion · interrvention · interveniton · intervenntion · interventino · interventionn
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "intersection" for "intervention" ever safe?
Which is more common, "intersection" or "intervention"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "intersection" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intervention" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #403,282 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intersection" and "intervention" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intersection vs intersections". 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 #403,282 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.