eternasvsexternaConfusable pair

Which to use

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

#21,668
“eternas” frequency rank
#5,618
“externa” frequency rank
27286
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature eternas externa
Definition Forma del femenino plural de eterno. Forma del femenino singular de externo.

Where the eye mixes eternas and externa

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. eternas (VCVCCVC) and externa (VCCVCCV) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.

7 ch
eternas
7 ch
externa

Look-alike desk: eternas vs externa

A purely visual mix-up. eternas ([eˈt̪eɾnas]) and externa ([eksˈt̪eɾna]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 6 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27286, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

eternas is recorded at frequency rank #21,668, classified as anadj, pronounced [eˈt̪eɾnas]. externa is at rank #5,618, tagged as anadj, pronounced [eksˈt̪eɾna].

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 27286, this pair ranks #227,562 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of eternas vs externa

Shared letters: aenrt. Private to "eternas": s. Private to "externa": x.

"eternas" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC  ·  "externa" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • eternas ← eetrnas · etenras · eterans · eternass · eternnas · eternsa · eterrnas · etrenas
  • externa ← etxerna · exetrna · extenra · exteran · externna · exterrna · extrena · extterna

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "eternas" for "externa" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eˈt̪eɾnas] versus [eksˈt̪eɾna]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "eternas" vs "externa" - which ranks higher?
"externa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,618 in our Spanish list, against #21,668 for "eternas". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Eye-level mix-up between "eternas" and "externa" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.

  • Full dictionary entry for "eternas" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "externa" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #227,562 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "eternas" and "externa" 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 #227,562 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