E

Name: E, German Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

[ʔeː]

/[ʔeː]/ character

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“E” is in the everyday core of German, ranked #271 in German word frequency and used as a character.

#271
frequency rank, German: 1
letter: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - fünfter Buchstabe des lateinischen Alphabets

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

E vs es

0% similar

E vs er

0% similar

E vs EU

50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for E
Property	Value
Headword	E
Language	German
Part of speech	Character
IPA	[ʔeː]
Letters	1
Frequency rank	#271
Misspellings tracked	0
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “E” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). E lands here:

#271

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for E is 1 letters long, classified as a character, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ʔeː]. Corpus data places it at rank #271 in overall German word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for E, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "es", "er", "EU", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is E, spelled E.

Definition

1
fünfter Buchstabe des lateinischen Alphabets
2
ein Ton der diatonischen Tonleiter
3
das Formelzeichen großes E für Energie
4
Kurzwort für elektro-

This word in other languages

E(English)mi(Español)mi(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "E"?

"E" is spelled E. The IPA pronunciation is [ʔeː].

What does "E" mean?

As a character, "E" means: fünfter Buchstabe des lateinischen Alphabets

What words are commonly confused with "E"?

"E" is commonly confused with "es", "er", "EU". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "E"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "E" is [ʔeː]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What language does "E" come from?

"E" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “E”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct German spelling is E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as [ʔeː] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “es” - see the side-by-side comparison. E vs es
Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.