inteiro vs interino, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“inteiro” and “interino” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#1,244
“inteiro” frequency rank: #9,065
“interino” frequency rank: 10309
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	inteiro	interino
Definition	completo	provisório; diz-se de quem exerce funções só durante o tempo de impedimento do funcionário efetivo

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set inteiro and interino apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

inteiro

8 ch

interino

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. inteiro (/ĩ.ˈtɐj.ɾu/) and interino (/ĩ.tɨ.ˈɾi.nu/) 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 10309, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

inteiro is recorded at frequency rank #1,244, classified as anadj, pronounced /ĩ.ˈtɐj.ɾu/. interino is at rank #9,065, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ĩ.tɨ.ˈɾi.nu/.

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 10309, this pair ranks #62,838 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of inteiro vs interino

Shared letters: einort. Private to "inteiro": -. Private to "interino": -.

"inteiro" · 7 letters · shape VCCVVCV · "interino" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

inteiro ← inetiro · innteiro · inteior · inteirro · interio · intiero · intteiro · itneiro
interino ← inetrino · innterino · inteirno · interinno · interion · internio · interrino · intreino

Frequency comparison

inteiro#1,244

interino#9,065

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "inteiro" and "interino" be used interchangeably?

No. They are said differently (/ĩ.ˈtɐj.ɾu/ versus /ĩ.tɨ.ˈɾi.nu/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.

Which is more common, "inteiro" or "interino"?

"inteiro" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,244 in our Portuguese list, against #9,065 for "interino". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering inteiro vs interino

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 “inteiro” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable