Which to use
“shed” and “show” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,894
- “shed” frequency rank
- #199
- “show” frequency rank
- 5093
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shed | show |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To part, separate or divide. | To display, to have somebody see (something). |
Where the eye mixes shed and show
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. shed (/ʃɛd/) and show (/ʃəʊ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 5093, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shed is recorded at frequency rank #4,894, classified as averb, pronounced /ʃɛd/. show is at rank #199, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʃəʊ/.
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 5093, this pair ranks #516,619 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of shed vs show
Shared letters: hs. Private to "shed": de. Private to "show": ow.
"shed" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "show" · 4 letters · shape CCVC