Correct spelling, explanation: essential is an adjective. It comes from the late Latin essentialis and essentia. It’s also a derivative of the noun essence. As you can see, the basic version of this word is spelled with double -s. There’s no reason to change that when it comes to any derivative of it. Therefore, the only correct spelling is essential, not esential.

Definition of essential:
adjective, absolutely necessary; extremely important
Education should be an essential part of every child’s life.
It’s essential to be patient if you’re working as a teacher.

Collocations with essential:
Some most commonly used collocations include: essential part, essential for, essential to life, and essential oils.

Incorrect spelling, explanation: this spelling is a mistake because it doesn’t match with the spelling of the noun, which is essence. One of the most problematic words in English are the ones that feature double letters. In order not to make any mistake, one should always look at the etymology or the structure of a basic word. You can’t spell essential as esential, because this version doesn’t exist.

Incorrect spelling

Incorrect spelling

Incorrect spelling

Incorrect spelling