etavsextraConfusable pair

Which to use

“eta” and “extra” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#5,959
“eta” frequency rank
#2,714
“extra” frequency rank
8673
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eta extra
Definition Nombre de la "e" larga del alfabeto griego. Actor que no tiene gran importancia en la pantalla, solo aparece de fondo y no pronuncia ningún diálogo.

Where the eye mixes eta and extra

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.

3 ch
eta
5 ch
extra

Look-alike desk: eta vs extra

A purely visual mix-up. eta ([ˈet̪a]) and extra ([ˈekst̪ɾa]) 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 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8673, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eta is recorded at frequency rank #5,959, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈet̪a]. extra is at rank #2,714, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈekst̪ɾa].

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 8673, this pair ranks #304,315 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of eta vs extra

Shared letters: aet. Private to "eta": -. Private to "extra": rx.

"eta" · 3 letters · shape VCV  ·  "extra" · 5 letters · shape VCCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • extraetxra · exrta · extar · extrra · exttra · exxtra · xetra

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "eta" for "extra" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([ˈet̪a] versus [ˈekst̪ɾa]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
In ordinary Spanish text, does "eta" or "extra" show up more?
"extra" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,714 in our Spanish list, against #5,959 for "eta". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "eta" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "extra" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #304,315 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eta" and "extra" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "EPL vs eta". 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 #304,315 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list