# shade vs shag

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shade
*noun · IPA /ʃeɪd/ · frequency rank #5,548*
Darkness where light, particularly sunlight, is blocked.

### shag
*noun · IPA /ˈʃæɡ/ · frequency rank #28,359*
Matted material; rough massed hair, fibres etc.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/shade-vs-shag