extern

[ˌɛksˈtɛʁn]

/[ˌɛksˈtɛʁn]/ adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“extern” has 9 generated spelling variants in the German index at frequency #26,863. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,863
frequency rank, German
4,632
“E” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
13
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - außerhalb eines bestimmten implizit mitdefinierten Bezugsystems

Corpus desk

Index DE-extern · extern · German

extern · rank #26,863 · 9 variants · 13 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,863
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 13 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,632
  • PHOTO-FINISH Exempel

Nearest frequency peer: Exempel (-1 rank slots)

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rang-Peers am Tippfehler-Magneten „extern“

Gleiche Seltenheitsbandbreite: nützlich, wenn ein Tippfehler auf ein Peer-Lemma trifft

corpus weight

What this shows „extern“ sitzt unter diesen FrequencyWords-Peers; die Tippfehlertiefe steht separat im Edit-Distance-Chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

extern vs extra
67% similar
extern vs externe
86% similar
extern vs externen
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for extern
PropertyValue
Headwordextern
LanguageGerman
Part of speechAdjective
IPA[ˌɛksˈtɛʁn]
Letters6
Frequency rank#26,863
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs13
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Häufigkeitslage von Tippfehler-Magnet „extern“

Diese Skala geht vom Kern des Alltagdeutschen (links) bis zum seltenen Langschwanz (rechts).externliegt hier neben dem Tippfehler-Druck:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Die Skala ist logarithmisch (jeder Tick ≈ 10× seltener). Peers derselben Seltenheitsbandbreite: „Exempel“ (#26,862), „fahrende“ (#26,864), „EVP“ (#26,861). Unter 4,632 „E“-Lemmata liegt „extern“ bei #26,863. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around extern (IPA [ˌɛksˈtɛʁn]), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #26,863 among 4,632 “E” headwords. Dominant gloss: "außerhalb eines bestimmten implizit mitdefinierten Bezugsystems".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for extern, with forms such as "etxern", "exetrn", and "extenr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 13 confusable-pair relationships, "extra", "externe", "externen", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct German form is extern, spelled E-X-T-E-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    außerhalb eines bestimmten implizit mitdefinierten Bezugsystems

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how extern appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Die Reinigung des Firmengebäudes führt ein externes Unternehmen durch.

Antonyms

intern

This word in other languages

external(English)externe(Français)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • etxern
  • exetrn
  • extenr
  • externn
  • exterrn
  • extren
  • exttern
  • exxtern
  • xetern

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of extern - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

etxern2exetrn2extenr2externn1exterrn1extren2exttern1exxtern1
Edit distance from "extern"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "extern"?
"extern" is spelled E-X-T-E-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌɛksˈtɛʁn].
What does "extern" mean?
As an adjective, "extern" means: außerhalb eines bestimmten implizit mitdefinierten Bezugsystems
What words are commonly confused with "extern"?
"extern" is commonly confused with "extra", "externe", "externen". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "extern"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "extern" is [ˌɛksˈtɛʁn]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "extern" come from?
"extern" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar German words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "extern", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked German headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Ficker#26,867escape#26,857flight#26,870Ernest#26,854

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

Erbach9 variantsfreche9 variantsground9 variantsdehnen9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list