Which to use
“erg” and “ex” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #48,222
- “erg” frequency rank
- #1,633
- “ex” frequency rank
- 49855
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | erg | ex |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | 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. | The name of the Latin script letter X/x. |
Where the eye mixes erg and ex
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 1 letter in sequence.
Why the eye confuses erg with ex
A purely visual mix-up. erg (/ɜːɡ/) and ex (/ɛks/) 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 49855, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
erg is recorded at frequency rank #48,222, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɜːɡ/. ex is at rank #1,633, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɛks/.
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 49855, this pair ranks #179,653 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of erg vs ex
Shared letters: e. Private to "erg": gr. Private to "ex": x.
"erg" · 3 letters · shape VCC · "ex" · 2 letters · shape VC
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "erg" and "ex" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "erg" or "ex" show up more?
After this comparison
Eye-level mix-up between "erg" and "ex" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "erg" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "ex" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #179,653 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "erg" and "ex" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "erg vs Eri". Nearby pair
Confusion rank #179,653 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.