Which to use
“shared” is an adjective and “sharps” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #2,128
- “shared” frequency rank
- #46,172
- “sharps” frequency rank
- 48300
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shared | sharps |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Used by multiple entities or for multiple purposes or in multiple ways. | plural of sharp |
Where the eye mixes shared and sharps
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence. shared (CCVCVC) and sharps (CCVCCC) run the same length but a different consonant-vowel pattern - the shape difference is usually the fastest tell.
Look-alike desk: shared vs sharps
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shared is /ʃɛːd/ while sharps is /ʃɑɹps/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 48300, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shared is recorded at frequency rank #2,128, classified as anadj, pronounced /ʃɛːd/. sharps is at rank #46,172, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ʃɑɹps/.
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 48300, this pair ranks #194,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of shared vs sharps
Shared letters: ahrs. Private to "shared": de. Private to "sharps": p.
"shared" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "sharps" · 6 letters · shape CCVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shared" and "sharps" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "shared" vs "sharps" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shared" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sharps" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #194,425 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shared" and "sharps" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Shams vs sharps". 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 #194,425 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.