Which to use
“e” is a character and “erg” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #525
- “e” frequency rank
- #48,222
- “erg” frequency rank
- 48747
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | e | erg |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The fifth letter of the English alphabet, called e and written in the Latin script. | A unit of work or energy, being the amount of work done by a force of one dyne applied through a distance of one centimeter. Equal to 10⁻⁷ joules. |
Where the eye mixes e and erg
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Look-alike desk: e vs erg
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: e is /ˈiː/ while erg is /ɜːɡ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “e” sits inside “erg”, and the parts of speech differ too (character vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48747, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
e is recorded at frequency rank #525, classified as acharacter, pronounced /ˈiː/. erg is at rank #48,222, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɜːɡ/.
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 48747, this pair ranks #190,135 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of e vs erg
Shared letters: e. Private to "e": -. Private to "erg": gr.
"e" · 1 letters · shape V · "erg" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "e" for "erg" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "e" or "erg" show up more?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "e" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "erg" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #190,135 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "e" and "erg" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erg vs Eri". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #190,135 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.