Which to use
“Ehe” is a noun and “esse” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,071
- “Ehe” frequency rank
- #4,698
- “esse” frequency rank
- 5769
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Ehe | esse |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | institutionell anerkannte und beurkundete Verbindung zweier Menschen, die in der Regel durch eine Liebesbeziehung, gemeinsame Lebensführung und dauerhaftes Bestehen (sowie oft, aber nicht überall, auch durch den Ausschluss einer gleichzeitigen gleichartigen Verbindung mit einem Dritten) gekennzeichnet ist | 1. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs essen |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set Ehe and esse apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Ehe and esse form a confusable pair in the German index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5769, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Ehe is recorded at frequency rank #1,071, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈeːə]. esse is at rank #4,698, tagged as averb, pronounced [ˈɛsə].
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 5769, this pair ranks #1,993,784 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "Ehe" and "esse" be used interchangeably?
Remembering Ehe vs esse
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “Ehe”; for a verb, it's “esse”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “Ehe” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable