Which to use
“expertes” and “externes” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,512
- “expertes” frequency rank
- #8,109
- “externes” frequency rank
- 56621
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expertes | externes |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Féminin pluriel de expert. | Pluriel de externe. |
Where the eye mixes expertes and externes
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses expertes with externes
A purely visual mix-up. expertes (\ɛks.pɛʁt\) 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 share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 56621, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expertes is recorded at frequency rank #48,512, classified as anadj, pronounced \ɛks.pɛʁt\. 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 56621, this pair ranks #119,946 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of expertes vs externes
Shared letters: erstx. Private to "expertes": p. Private to "externes": n.
"expertes" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC · "externes" · 8 letters · shape VCCVCCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "expertes" for "externes" ever safe?
Frequency check: "expertes" vs "externes" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "expertes" 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 #119,946 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expertes" and "externes" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "expertes vs exportées". 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 #119,946 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.