Type E vs. Type J

Type E is the French/Belgian standard -- unusually, its round grounding pin is fixed in the socket, not the plug. It's used across France, Belgium, Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia, and a hybrid CEE 7/7 plug design bridges it with the incompatible German Type F.

Type J is Switzerland's own standard -- three round pins in a small hexagonal-bodied plug, in 10A and 16A variants. Its design directly influenced Brazil's and South Africa's later Type N standards, though reversed polarity during adaptation broke compatibility with its own descendants.