Which to use
“Show” and “Smog” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,333
- “Show” frequency rank
- #47,734
- “Smog” frequency rank
- 49067
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Show | Smog |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Vorführung eines (großen) Unterhaltungsprogramms vor Publikum (beispielsweise im Theater oder Varieté; oft in Fernsehen oder Radio übertragen), teilweise mit Informationscharakter | hohe Konzentration von Schadstoffen in der Luft, wie sie sich über dicht besiedelten Räumen bilden kann |
Where the eye mixes Show and Smog
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between Show and Smog
A purely visual mix-up. Show ([ʃɔʊ̯]) and Smog ([smɔk]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49067, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Show is recorded at frequency rank #1,333, classified as anoun, pronounced [ʃɔʊ̯]. Smog is at rank #47,734, tagged as anoun, pronounced [smɔk].
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 49067, this pair ranks #1,225,279 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Show vs Smog
Shared letters: os. Private to "Show": hw. Private to "Smog": gm.
"Show" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "Smog" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "Show" and "Smog" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary German text, does "Show" or "Smog" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Show" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Smog" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #1,225,279 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Show" and "Smog" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "seg vs Smog". 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 #1,225,279 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.