externavsexternosConfusable pair

Quick tell: externa is a adjective, externos is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

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

#5,618
“externa” frequency rank
#6,406
“externos” frequency rank
12024
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature externa externos
Definition Forma del femenino singular de externo. Forma del plural de externo.

Where the eye mixes externa and externos

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

7 ch
externa
8 ch
externos

Look-alike desk: externa vs externos

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: externa is [eksˈt̪eɾna] 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 12024, 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]. 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 12024, this pair ranks #293,011 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of externa vs externos

Shared letters: enrtx. Private to "externa": a. Private to "externos": os.

"externa" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV  ·  "externos" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • externaetxerna · exetrna · extenra · exteran · externna · exterrna · extrena · extterna
  • externosetxernos · exetrnos · extenros · externnos · externoss · externso · exterons · exterrnos

Frequently Asked Questions

Is swapping "externa" for "externos" ever safe?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "externa" is an adjective and "externos" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "externa" vs "externos" - which ranks higher?
"externa" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,618 in our Spanish list, against #6,406 for "externos". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

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

  • Full dictionary entry for "externa" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "externos" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #293,011 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "externa" and "externos" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "esteros vs externos". 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 #293,011 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