Which to use
“shot” is a verb and “Show” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #21,057
- “shot” frequency rank
- #1,333
- “Show” frequency rank
- 22390
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shot | Show |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Präteritum (simple past) des Verbs shoot | Vorführung eines (großen) Unterhaltungsprogramms vor Publikum (beispielsweise im Theater oder Varieté; oft in Fernsehen oder Radio übertragen), teilweise mit Informationscharakter |
Where the eye mixes shot and Show
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: shot vs Show
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shot is [ʃɒt] while Show is [ʃɔʊ̯]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - t in “shot” becomes w in “Show”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22390, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shot is recorded at frequency rank #21,057, classified as averb, pronounced [ʃɒt]. Show is at rank #1,333, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ʃɔʊ̯].
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 22390, this pair ranks #1,874,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of shot vs Show
Shared letters: hos. Private to "shot": t. Private to "Show": w.
"shot" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "Show" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "shot" for "Show" ever safe?
In ordinary German text, does "shot" or "Show" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shot" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Show" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,874,755 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shot" and "Show" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shot vs Soho". 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 #1,874,755 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.