ek vs ell, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“ek” is a pronoun and “ell” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,574
“ek” frequency rank: #39,191
“ell” frequency rank: 76765
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	ek	ell
Definition	Yo.	Codo; antigua medida inglesa especialmente utilizada para medir telas que equivalía a 114,3 centímetros (45 pulgadas).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set ek and ell apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

2 ch

3 ch

ell

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: ek is [ɛk] while ell is [eɫ]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (pronoun vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 76765, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

ek is recorded at frequency rank #37,574, classified as apron, pronounced [ɛk]. ell is at rank #39,191, tagged as anoun, pronounced [eɫ].

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 76765, this pair ranks #17,147 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of ek vs ell

Shared letters: e. Private to "ek": k. Private to "ell": l.

"ek" · 2 letters · shape VC · "ell" · 3 letters · shape VCC

Frequency comparison

ek#37,574

ell#39,191

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "ek" and "ell" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "ek" is a pronoun and "ell" a noun, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "ek" or "ell"?

"ek" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #37,574 in our Spanish list, against #39,191 for "ell". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering ek vs ell

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “ek”; for a noun, it's “ell”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “ek” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable