corevsshowsWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: core is a noun, shows is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“core” is a noun and “shows” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#15,059
“core” frequency rank
#8,130
“shows” frequency rank
23189
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature core shows
Definition Kern 3. Person Singular Indikativ Präsens Aktiv des Verbs show

Where the spellings diverge

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

4 ch
core
5 ch
shows

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: core is anoun and showsaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23189, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

core is recorded at frequency rank #15,059, classified as anoun, pronounced […]. shows is at rank #8,130, tagged as averb, pronounced […].

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 23189, this pair ranks #1,864,600 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of core vs shows

Shared letters: o. Private to "core": cer. Private to "shows": hsw.

"core" · 4 letters · shape CVCV  ·  "shows" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • coreccore · coer · corre · croe · ocre
  • showshsows · shhows · shosw · showss · showws · shwos · sohws · sshows

Frequency comparison

core#15,059
shows#8,130

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "core" and "shows" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "core" is a noun and "shows" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "core" or "shows"?
"shows" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #8,130 in our German list, against #15,059 for "core". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering core vs shows

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

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

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list