Which to use
“externo” and “extraño” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,672
- “externo” frequency rank
- #1,289
- “extraño” frequency rank
- 7961
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | externo | extraño |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Que se encuentra o tiene lugar en el exterior | Dicho de una persona, que es ajeno a nuestra familia, grupo social, nación. |
Where the eye mixes externo and extraño
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses externo with extraño
A purely visual mix-up. externo ([eksˈt̪eɾno]) and extraño ([eksˈt̪ɾaɲo]) 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 7961, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
externo is recorded at frequency rank #6,672, classified as anadj, pronounced [eksˈt̪eɾno]. extraño is at rank #1,289, tagged as anadj, pronounced [eksˈt̪ɾaɲo].
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 7961, this pair ranks #306,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of externo vs extraño
Shared letters: eortx. Private to "externo": n. Private to "extraño": añ.
"externo" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV · "extraño" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- externo ← etxerno · exetrno · extenro · externno · exteron · exterrno · extreno · extterno
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "externo" and "extraño" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "externo" vs "extraño" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "externo" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "extraño" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #306,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "externo" and "extraño" 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 #306,401 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.