Which to use
“extension” and “extinción” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #32,661
- “extension” frequency rank
- #6,059
- “extinción” frequency rank
- 38720
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | extension | extinción |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Extensión. | La acción y el efecto de extinguirse. |
Where the eye mixes extension and extinción
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. extension and extinción follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCVCCVVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses extension with extinción
A purely visual mix-up. extension ([ɛk.stɑ̃.sjɔ̃]) and extinción ([ekst̪ĩnˈsjõn]) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38720, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
extension is recorded at frequency rank #32,661, classified as anoun, pronounced [ɛk.stɑ̃.sjɔ̃]. extinción is at rank #6,059, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ekst̪ĩnˈsjõn].
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 38720, this pair ranks #168,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of extension vs extinción
Shared letters: eintx. Private to "extension": os. Private to "extinción": có.
"extension" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVVC · "extinción" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- extension ← etxension · exetnsion · extencion · extenison · extennsion · extensino · extensionn · extensoin
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "extension" and "extinción" be used interchangeably?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "extension" or "extinción" show up more?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "extension" and "extinción" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "extension" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "extinción" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #168,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "extension" and "extinción" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "extendían vs extension". 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 #168,449 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.