Which to use
“ledge” and “levee” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #16,956
- “ledge” frequency rank
- #37,541
- “levee” frequency rank
- 54497
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | ledge | levee |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A narrow surface projecting horizontally from a wall, cliff, or other surface. | An elevated ridge of deposited sediment on the banks of a river, formed by the river's overflow at times of high discharge. |
Where the eye mixes ledge and levee
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses ledge with levee
A purely visual mix-up. ledge (/lɛd͡ʒ/) and levee (/ˈlɛvi/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 54497, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
ledge is recorded at frequency rank #16,956, classified as anoun, pronounced /lɛd͡ʒ/. levee is at rank #37,541, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɛvi/.
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 54497, this pair ranks #140,656 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of ledge vs levee
Shared letters: el. Private to "ledge": dg. Private to "levee": v.
"ledge" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV · "levee" · 5 letters · shape CVCVV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "ledge" for "levee" ever safe?
Frequency check: "ledge" vs "levee" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "ledge" and "levee" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "ledge" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "levee" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #140,656 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "ledge" and "levee" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "laver vs levee". 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 #140,656 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.