# shawl vs shell

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### shawl
*noun · IPA /ʃɔːl/ · frequency rank #23,391*
A square or rectangular piece of cloth worn as a covering for the head, neck, and shoulders, typically by women.

### shell
*noun · IPA /ʃɛl/ · frequency rank #3,726*
A hard external covering of an animal.

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