Which to use
“eau” and “ee” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #29,094
- “eau” frequency rank
- #18,519
- “ee” frequency rank
- 47613
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eau | ee |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ansammlung von Wassermolekülen in flüssiger Form: Wasser | Sinnesorgan zum Sehen; Auge |
Where the eye mixes eau and ee
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses eau with ee
A purely visual mix-up. eau ([o]) and ee ([iː]) 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 47613, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eau is recorded at frequency rank #29,094, classified as anoun, pronounced [o]. ee is at rank #18,519, tagged as anoun, pronounced [iː].
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 47613, this pair ranks #1,278,200 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of eau vs ee
Shared letters: e. Private to "eau": au. Private to "ee": -.
"eau" · 3 letters · shape VVV · "ee" · 2 letters · shape VV
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eau" for "ee" ever safe?
Frequency check: "eau" vs "ee" - 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 "eau" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ee" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,278,200 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eau" and "ee" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eau vs eo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,278,200 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.