Which to use
“exercé” is a verb and “externe” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,320
- “exercé” frequency rank
- #4,576
- “externe” frequency rank
- 14896
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | exercé | externe |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Participe passé masculin singulier de exercer. | Qui est, qui paraît au-dehors. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set exercé and externe apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: exercé is \ɛɡ.zɛʁ.se\ while externe is \ɛks.tɛʁn\. 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 (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14896, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
exercé is recorded at frequency rank #10,320, classified as averb, pronounced \ɛɡ.zɛʁ.se\. externe is at rank #4,576, tagged as anadj, pronounced \ɛks.tɛʁn\.
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 14896, this pair ranks #394,734 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of exercé vs externe
Shared letters: erx. Private to "exercé": cé. Private to "externe": nt.
"exercé" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV · "externe" · 7 letters · shape VCCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- externe ← etxerne · exetrne · extenre · exteren · externne · exterrne · extrene · extterne
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "exercé" and "externe" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "exercé" or "externe"?
Remembering exercé vs externe
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “exercé”; for an adjective, it's “externe”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “exercé” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable