# shaka vs shan

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shaka
*noun · IPA /ˈʃɑːkə/ · frequency rank #45,650*
A greeting gesture in which the thumb and little finger are extended while curling the three middle fingers in a semi-fist, used to express a variety of positive meanings including all right, hello and goodbye.

### shan
*adjective · frequency rank #21,061*
unfair, harsh

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