Is E♭maj9 a hard chord to play on guitar?

No — E♭maj9 has an easy open-position shape, so it's a good chord for a beginner to learn early.

Is E♭maj9 the same as D#maj9?

Yes — E♭maj9 and D#maj9 are two names for the same notes. This page uses E♭maj9 as the more common guitar spelling.

E♭maj9

E♭ major 9th · also written D#maj9

E♭ · G · B♭ · D · F

E♭ major 9th is a beginner-friendly open chord — there's an easy shape for it in the first position, so it's usually one of the first major 9th chords a new player learns. 6 ways to play it are shown below, easiest first.

Click any shape to hear it played.

Every way to play it

Already an easy open chord. There is an open shape for this one, so there is no capo trick or near-miss substitute worth showing — the first shape above is the one to learn.