Which to use
“éternel” and “externes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #6,577
- “éternel” frequency rank
- #8,109
- “externes” frequency rank
- 14686
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | éternel | externes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Qui n’a pas eu de commencement et n’aura jamais de fin. | Pluriel de externe. |
Where the eye mixes éternel and externes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence. éternel runs 7 letters (VCVCCVC) against externes's 8 (VCCVCCVC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: éternel vs externes
A purely visual mix-up. éternel (\e.tɛʁ.nɛl\) and externes (\ɛk.stɛʁn\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14686, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
éternel is recorded at frequency rank #6,577, classified as anadj, pronounced \e.tɛʁ.nɛl\. externes is at rank #8,109, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛk.stɛʁn\.
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 14686, this pair ranks #395,623 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of éternel vs externes
Shared letters: enrt. Private to "éternel": lé. Private to "externes": sx.
"éternel" · 7 letters · shape VCVCCVC · "externes" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- externes ← etxernes · exetrnes · extenres · exterens · externess · externnes · externse · exterrnes
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "éternel" for "externes" ever safe?
In ordinary French text, does "éternel" or "externes" show up more?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "éternel" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "externes" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #395,623 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "éternel" and "externes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expertes vs externes". 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 #395,623 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.