Which to use
“show” and “shut” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #199
- “show” frequency rank
- #1,738
- “shut” frequency rank
- 1937
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | show | shut |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To display, to have somebody see (something). | To close, in various senses. |
Where the eye mixes show and shut
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
A purely visual mix-up. show (/ʃəʊ/) and shut (/ʃʌt/) 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 1937, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
show is recorded at frequency rank #199, classified as averb, pronounced /ʃəʊ/. shut is at rank #1,738, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʃʌt/.
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 1937, this pair ranks #526,256 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of show vs shut
Shared letters: hs. Private to "show": ow. Private to "shut": tu.
"show" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "shut" · 4 letters · shape CCVC