5 vs 5e, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“5” is a character and “5e” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#166
“5” frequency rank: #7,022
“5e” frequency rank: 7188
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	5	5e
Definition	En 3arabizi, retranscrit le خ. Prononciation : \x\.	Cinquième (ordinal).

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set 5 and 5e apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

1 ch

2 ch

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: 5 is \x\ while 5e is \sɛ̃.kjɛm\. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “5” sits inside “5e”, and the parts of speech differ too (character vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 7188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

5 is recorded at frequency rank #166, classified as acharacter, pronounced \x\. 5e is at rank #7,022, tagged as anadj, pronounced \sɛ̃.kjɛm\.

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 7188, this pair ranks #423,918 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of 5 vs 5e

Shared letters: none. Private to "5": -. Private to "5e": e.

"5" · 0 letters · shape · "5e" · 1 letters · shape V

Frequency comparison

5#166

5e#7,022

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "5" and "5e" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "5" is a character and "5e" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "5" or "5e"?

"5" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #166 in our French list, against #7,022 for "5e". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering 5 vs 5e

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need a character, it's “5”; for an adjective, it's “5e”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “5” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable