Which to use
“ex” and “exam” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,633
- “ex” frequency rank
- #4,598
- “exam” frequency rank
- 6231
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ex | exam |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The name of the Latin script letter X/x. | Clipping of examination, especially when meaning “test” or in compound terms. |
Where the eye mixes ex and exam
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ex with exam
A purely visual mix-up. ex (/ɛks/) and exam (/ɪɡˈzæm/) 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 2 extra letter(s) - “ex” sits inside “exam”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6231, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ex is recorded at frequency rank #1,633, classified as anoun, pronounced /ɛks/. exam is at rank #4,598, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɪɡˈzæm/.
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 6231, this pair ranks #512,227 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of ex vs exam
Shared letters: ex. Private to "ex": -. Private to "exam": am.
"ex" · 2 letters · shape VC · "exam" · 4 letters · shape VCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
- exam ← eaxm · examm · exma · exxam · xeam
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ex" for "exam" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ex" vs "exam" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "ex" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exam" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #512,227 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ex" and "exam" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "exam vs exon". 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 #512,227 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.