Which to use
“intervenir” and “intervenu” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,687
- “intervenir” frequency rank
- #13,410
- “intervenu” frequency rank
- 17097
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | intervenir | intervenu |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Prendre part à une chose, entrer dans une affaire par quelque intérêt, par quelque obligation, par quelque nécessité que ce soit. | Participe passé masculin singulier du verbe intervenir. |
Where the eye mixes intervenir and intervenu
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence. intervenir runs 10 letters (VCCVCCVCVC) against intervenu's 9 (VCCVCCVCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Visual trap between intervenir and intervenu
A purely visual mix-up. intervenir (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.və.niʁ\) and intervenu (\ɛ̃.tɛʁ.və.ny\) 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 17097, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
intervenir is recorded at frequency rank #3,687, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.və.niʁ\. intervenu is at rank #13,410, tagged as averb, pronounced \ɛ̃.tɛʁ.və.ny\.
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 17097, this pair ranks #384,809 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of intervenir vs intervenu
Shared letters: einrtv. Private to "intervenir": -. Private to "intervenu": u.
"intervenir" · 10 letters · shape VCCVCCVCVC · "intervenu" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- intervenir ← inetrvenir · inntervenir · interevnir · interrvenir · interveinr · intervenirr · intervennir · intervenri
- intervenu ← inetrvenu · inntervenu · interevnu · interrvenu · intervennu · interveun · intervneu · intervvenu
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "intervenir" and "intervenu" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "intervenir" or "intervenu"?
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 "intervenir" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "intervenu" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #384,809 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "intervenir" and "intervenu" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "intervenu vs intervint". 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 #384,809 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.