Which to use
“eleven” is a num and “eleventh” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,879
- “eleven” frequency rank
- #15,393
- “eleventh” frequency rank
- 21272
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | eleven | eleventh |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The cardinal number occurring after ten and before twelve. Represented as 11 in Arabic digits. | The ordinal form of the number eleven. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set eleven and eleventh apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: eleven is /ɪˈlɛvən/ while eleventh is /ɪˈlɛv.ənθ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 2 extra letter(s) - “eleven” sits inside “eleventh”, and the parts of speech differ too (num vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 21272, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
eleven is recorded at frequency rank #5,879, classified as anum, pronounced /ɪˈlɛvən/. eleventh is at rank #15,393, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ɪˈlɛv.ənθ/.
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 21272, this pair ranks #425,077 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of eleven vs eleventh
Shared letters: elnv. Private to "eleven": -. Private to "eleventh": ht.
"eleven" · 6 letters · shape VCVCVC · "eleventh" · 8 letters · shape VCVCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "eleven" and "eleventh" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "eleven" or "eleventh"?
Remembering eleven vs eleventh
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a num, it's “eleven”; for an adjective, it's “eleventh”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “eleven” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable