EvsehWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: E is a character, eh is an adverb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“E” is a character and “eh” is an adverb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#271
“E” frequency rank
#1,106
“eh” frequency rank
1377
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature E eh
Definition fünfter Buchstabe des lateinischen Alphabets auf alle Fälle; auch ohne eine weitere Voraussetzung

Where the eye mixes E and eh

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.

1 ch
E
2 ch
eh

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: E is [ʔeː] while eh is [eː]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “E” sits inside “eh”, and the parts of speech differ too (character vs adverb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 1377, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

E is recorded at frequency rank #271, classified as acharacter, pronounced [ʔeː]. eh is at rank #1,106, tagged as anadv, pronounced [eː].

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 1377, this pair ranks #2,004,455 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of E vs eh

Shared letters: e. Private to "E": -. Private to "eh": h.

"E" · 1 letters · shape V  ·  "eh" · 2 letters · shape VC

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "E" and "eh" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "E" is a character and "eh" an adverb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "E" or "eh"?
"E" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #271 in our German list, against #1,106 for "eh". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

What to do next

You've compared "E" and "eh". Here's where to go from here.

  • Full dictionary entry for "E" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "eh" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #2,004,455 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "E" and "eh" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eh vs eo". Nearby pair

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list