Which to use
“eternal” is an adjective and “externas” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #37,083
- “eternal” frequency rank
- #8,953
- “externas” frequency rank
- 46036
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eternal | externas |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Eterno. | Segunda persona del singular (tú) del presente de indicativo de externar. |
Where the eye mixes eternal and externas
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. eternal runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against externas's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: eternal vs externas
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eternal is /ɪˈtɜː.nəl/ while externas is [eksˈt̪eɾnas]. 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 (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46036, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eternal is recorded at frequency rank #37,083, classified as anadj, pronounced /ɪˈtɜː.nəl/. externas is at rank #8,953, tagged as averb, pronounced [eksˈt̪eɾnas].
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 46036, this pair ranks #128,049 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eternal vs externas
Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "eternal": l. Private to "externas": sx.
"eternal" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "externas" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "eternal" and "externas" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "eternal" or "externas" show up more?
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 "eternal" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "externas" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #128,049 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eternal" and "externas" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eternal vs eternas". 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 #128,049 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.