# Shem vs stem

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### Shem
*name · frequency rank #40,019*
The oldest son of Noah, brother to Ham and Japheth.

### stem
*noun · IPA /stɛm/ · frequency rank #4,336*
The stock of a family; a race or generation of progenitors.

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