Which to use
“externen” and “externes” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,276
- “externen” frequency rank
- #46,630
- “externes” frequency rank
- 56906
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | externen | externes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Genitiv Singular Maskulinum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs extern | Nominativ Singular Neutrum der starken Deklination des Positivs des Adjektivs extern |
Where the eye mixes externen and externes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses externen with externes
A purely visual mix-up. externen ([ˌɛksˈtɛʁnən]) and externes ([ˌɛksˈtɛʁnəs]) 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 a single letter - n in “externen” becomes s in “externes”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56906, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
externen is recorded at frequency rank #10,276, classified as anadj, pronounced [ˌɛksˈtɛʁnən]. externes is at rank #46,630, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˌɛksˈtɛʁnəs].
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 56906, this pair ranks #922,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of externen vs externes
Shared letters: enrtx. Private to "externen": -. Private to "externes": s.
"externen" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "externes" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "externen" for "externes" ever safe?
Which is more common, "externen" or "externes"?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "externen" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "externes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #922,129 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "externen" and "externes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "extern vs externes". 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 #922,129 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.