# shale vs shark

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shale
*noun · IPA /ʃeɪl/ · frequency rank #11,460*
A shell, scale or husk; a cod or pod.

### shark
*noun · IPA /ʃɑːk/ · frequency rank #6,098*
Any predatory fish of the superorder Selachimorpha, with a cartilaginous skeleton and 5 to 7 gill slits on each side of its head.

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