externavsexternoWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

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

#5,618
“externa” frequency rank
#6,672
“externo” frequency rank
12290
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

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

Where the eye mixes externa and externo

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.

7 ch
externa
7 ch
externo

Look-alike desk: externa vs externo

A purely visual mix-up. externa ([eksˈt̪eɾna]) 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 a single letter - a in “externa” becomes o in “externo”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12290, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

externa is recorded at frequency rank #5,618, classified as anadj, pronounced [eksˈt̪eɾna]. 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 12290, this pair ranks #292,046 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of externa vs externo

Shared letters: enrtx. Private to "externa": a. Private to "externo": o.

"externa" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "externo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • externaetxerna · exetrna · extenra · exteran · externna · exterrna · extrena · extterna
  • externoetxerno · exetrno · extenro · externno · exteron · exterrno · extreno · extterno

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "externa" for "externo" ever safe?
No. They are said differently ([eksˈt̪eɾna] versus [eksˈt̪eɾno]) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "externa" vs "externo" - which ranks higher?
"externa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,618 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.

After this comparison

Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.

  • Full dictionary entry for "externa" 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 #292,046 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "externa" 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 #292,046 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