Which to use
“east” and “eft” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #709
- “east” frequency rank
- #49,891
- “eft” frequency rank
- 50600
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | east | eft |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The direction of the earth's rotation, specifically 90°. | A newt, especially a smooth newt (Lissotriton vulgaris, syn. Triturus punctatus), of Europe. |
Where the eye mixes east and eft
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: east vs eft
A purely visual mix-up. east (/iːst/) and eft (/ɛft/) 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 50600, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
east is recorded at frequency rank #709, classified as anoun, pronounced /iːst/. eft is at rank #49,891, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɛft/.
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 50600, this pair ranks #172,807 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of east vs eft
Shared letters: et. Private to "east": as. Private to "eft": f.
"east" · 4 letters · shape VVCC · "eft" · 3 letters · shape VCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- east ← aest · easst · eastt · esat
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "east" and "eft" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "east" vs "eft" - which ranks higher?
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 "east" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "eft" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #172,807 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "east" and "eft" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "eft vs Eri". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #172,807 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.