extrañabavsextrañezaWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: extrañaba is a verb, extrañeza is a noun, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“extrañaba” is a verb and “extrañeza” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#23,781
“extrañaba” frequency rank
#46,553
“extrañeza” frequency rank
70334
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature extrañaba extrañeza
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del pretérito imperfecto de indicativo de extrañar o de extrañarse. Irregularidad, rareza.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set extrañaba and extrañeza apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
extrañaba
9 ch
extrañeza

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: extrañaba is [ekst̪ɾaˈɲaβ̞a] while extrañeza is [ekst̪ɾaˈɲesa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 70334, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

extrañaba is recorded at frequency rank #23,781, classified as averb, pronounced [ekst̪ɾaˈɲaβ̞a]. extrañeza is at rank #46,553, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ekst̪ɾaˈɲesa].

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 70334, this pair ranks #29,952 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of extrañaba vs extrañeza

Shared letters: aertxñ. Private to "extrañaba": b. Private to "extrañeza": z.

"extrañaba" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCV  ·  "extrañeza" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCV

Frequency comparison

extrañaba#23,781
extrañeza#46,553

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "extrañaba" and "extrañeza" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "extrañaba" is a verb and "extrañeza" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "extrañaba" or "extrañeza"?
"extrañaba" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #23,781 in our Spanish list, against #46,553 for "extrañeza". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering extrañaba vs extrañeza

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list