Which to use
“edema” and “ema” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #30,776
- “edema” frequency rank
- #32,373
- “ema” frequency rank
- 63149
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | edema | ema |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | An excessive accumulation of serum in tissue spaces or a body cavity. | A wooden plaque bearing a prayer or wish, left hanging at a Shinto shrine. |
Letter map: edema vs ema
Shared letters muted; letters that set edema and ema apart highlighted. Shared run: 3. edema runs 5 letters (VCVCV) against ema's 3 (VCV) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Corpus notes: edema and ema
edema and ema are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “ema” sits inside “edema”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63149, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
edema is recorded at frequency rank #30,776, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɪˈdiː.mə/. ema is at rank #32,373, tagged as anoun.
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 63149, this pair ranks #84,601 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of edema vs ema
Shared letters: aem. Private to "edema": d. Private to "ema": -.
"edema" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "ema" · 3 letters · shape VCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- edema ← deema · eddema · edeam · edemma · edmea · eedma
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "edema" for "ema" ever safe?
Frequency check: "edema" vs "ema" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
You've compared "edema" and "ema". Here's where to go from here.
- Full dictionary entry for "edema" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ema" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #84,601 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "edema" and "ema" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "ema 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 #84,601 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.