entfernevsexterneWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: entferne is a verb, externe is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“entferne” is a verb and “externe” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#27,272
“entferne” frequency rank
#8,556
“externe” frequency rank
35828
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entferne externe
Definition 2. Person Singular Imperativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs entfernen Nominativ Singular Femininum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs extern

Where the spellings diverge

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

8 ch
entferne
7 ch
externe

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: entferne is [ɛntˈfɛʁnə] while externe is [ˌɛksˈtɛʁnə]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35828, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entferne is recorded at frequency rank #27,272, classified as averb, pronounced [ɛntˈfɛʁnə]. externe is at rank #8,556, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌɛksˈtɛʁnə].

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 35828, this pair ranks #1,630,538 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entferne vs externe

Shared letters: enrt. Private to "entferne": f. Private to "externe": x.

"entferne" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCCV  ·  "externe" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entferneenfterne · enntferne · entefrne · entfenre · entferen · entferrne · entfferne · entfrene
  • externeetxerne · exetrne · extenre · exteren · externne · exterrne · extrene · extterne

Frequency comparison

entferne#27,272
externe#8,556

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entferne" and "externe" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "entferne" is a verb and "externe" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "entferne" or "externe"?
"externe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,556 in our German list, against #27,272 for "entferne". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering entferne vs externe

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “entferne”; for an adjective, it's “externe”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “entferne” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list