eternas vs externos, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“eternas” is an adjective and “externos” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#21,668
“eternas” frequency rank: #6,406
“externos” frequency rank: 28074
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	eternas	externos
Definition	Forma del femenino plural de eterno.	Forma del plural de externo.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set eternas and externos apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch

eternas

8 ch

externos

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eternas is [eˈt̪eɾnas] while externos is [eksˈt̪eɾnos]. 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 noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 28074, 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]. externos is at rank #6,406, tagged as anoun, pronounced [eksˈt̪eɾnos].

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 28074, this pair ranks #223,788 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of eternas vs externos

Shared letters: enrst. Private to "eternas": a. Private to "externos": ox.

"eternas" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "externos" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

eternas ← eetrnas · etenras · eterans · eternass · eternnas · eternsa · eterrnas · etrenas
externos ← etxernos · exetrnos · extenros · externnos · externoss · externso · exterons · exterrnos

Frequency comparison

eternas#21,668

externos#6,406

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "eternas" and "externos" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "eternas" is an adjective and "externos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "eternas" or "externos"?

"externos" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #6,406 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.

Remembering eternas vs externos

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “eternas”; for a noun, it's “externos”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “eternas” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable