Which to use
“eau” is a noun and “es” is a pronoun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #29,094
- “eau” frequency rank
- #13
- “es” frequency rank
- 29107
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eau | es |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ansammlung von Wassermolekülen in flüssiger Form: Wasser | ersetzt eine zuvor benutzte Nominalphrase im Neutrum (Person, Tier, Sache oder Abstraktum) |
Where the eye mixes eau and es
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: eau vs es
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eau is [o] while es is [ɛs]. 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 (noun vs pronoun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 29107, 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]. es is at rank #13, tagged as apron, pronounced [ɛs].
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 29107, this pair ranks #1,772,907 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eau vs es
Shared letters: e. Private to "eau": au. Private to "es": s.
"eau" · 3 letters · shape VVV · "es" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "eau" for "es" ever safe?
Frequency check: "eau" vs "es" - 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 "es" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,772,907 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "eau" and "es" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eau vs eo". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #1,772,907 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.