extrañevsextrañezaWhat's the difference?

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

Which to use

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

#31,788
“extrañe” frequency rank
#46,553
“extrañeza” frequency rank
78341
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature extrañe extrañeza
Definition Primera persona del singular (yo) del presente de subjuntivo de extrañar o de extrañarse. Irregularidad, rareza.

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
extrañe
9 ch
extrañeza

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: extrañe is [eksˈt̪ɾaɲe] while extrañeza is [ekst̪ɾaˈɲesa]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “extrañe” sits inside “extrañeza”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 78341, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

extrañe is recorded at frequency rank #31,788, classified as averb, pronounced [eksˈt̪ɾaɲe]. 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 78341, this pair ranks #14,590 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of extrañe vs extrañeza

Shared letters: aertxñ. Private to "extrañe": -. Private to "extrañeza": z.

"extrañe" · 7 letters · shape VCCCVCV  ·  "extrañeza" · 9 letters · shape VCCCVCVCV

Frequency comparison

extrañe#31,788
extrañeza#46,553

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "extrañe" and "extrañeza" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "extrañe" is a verb and "extrañeza" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "extrañe" or "extrañeza"?
"extrañe" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,788 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 extrañe vs extrañeza

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “extrañe”; for a noun, it's “extrañeza”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “extrañe” 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