Which to use
“enemy” is an adjective and “energy” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #32,165
- “enemy” frequency rank
- #12,236
- “energy” frequency rank
- 44401
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | enemy | energy |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | inimigo | energia, vigor, disposição: |
Where the eye mixes enemy and energy
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between enemy and energy
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: enemy is /ˈɛnəmi/ while energy is /ˈɛ.nɚ.ʤi/ ouvir (Estados Unidos)^(fonte ?). 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 (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44401, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
enemy is recorded at frequency rank #32,165, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈɛnəmi/. energy is at rank #12,236, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈɛ.nɚ.ʤi/ ouvir (Estados Unidos)^(fonte ?).
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 44401, this pair ranks #21,095 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of enemy vs energy
Shared letters: eny. Private to "enemy": m. Private to "energy": gr.
"enemy" · 5 letters · shape VCVCV · "energy" · 6 letters · shape VCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "enemy" and "energy" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "enemy" or "energy"?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "enemy" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "energy" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #21,095 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "enemy" and "energy" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "enemy vs enjoy". 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 #21,095 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.