eternavsexternoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#6,182
“eterna” frequency rank
#6,672
“externo” frequency rank
12854
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eterna externo
Definition Forma del femenino de eterno. Que se encuentra o tiene lugar en el exterior

Where the eye mixes eterna and externo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

6 ch
eterna
7 ch
externo

Look-alike desk: eterna vs externo

A purely visual mix-up. eterna ([eˈt̪eɾna]) and externo ([eksˈt̪eɾno]) 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 12854, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eterna is recorded at frequency rank #6,182, classified as anadj, pronounced [eˈt̪eɾna]. externo is at rank #6,672, tagged as anadj, pronounced [eksˈt̪eɾno].

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 12854, this pair ranks #290,005 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of eterna vs externo

Shared letters: enrt. Private to "eterna": a. Private to "externo": ox.

"eterna" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV  ·  "externo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eternaeetrna · etenra · eteran · eternna · eterrna · etrena · etterna · teerna
  • externoetxerno · exetrno · extenro · externno · exteron · exterrno · extreno · extterno

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "eterna" for "externo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eˈt̪eɾna] versus [eksˈt̪eɾno]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "eterna" or "externo"?
"eterna" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,182 in our Spanish list, against #6,672 for "externo". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

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 "eterna" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "externo" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #290,005 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eterna" and "externo" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enterró vs externo". 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 #290,005 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