shady
/ˈʃeɪdi/
"shady" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“shady” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #11,115 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #11,115
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Abounding in shades.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | shady |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈʃeɪdi/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #11,115 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “shady” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for shady is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈʃeɪdi/. Corpus data places it at rank #11,115 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for shady, with forms such as "hsady", "sahdy", and "shaddy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "shy", "stay", "shed", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From shade + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian skaadich, skaddich (“shady”), German schattig (“shady”). The correct English form is shady, spelled S-H-A-D-Y.
Definition
- 1Abounding in shades.
- 2Causing shade.
- 3Overspread with shade; sheltered from the glare of light or sultry heat.
- 4Not trustworthy; disreputable.
- 5Mean, cruel.
Etymology
From shade + -y. Compare Saterland Frisian skaadich, skaddich (“shady”), German schattig (“shady”).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hsady,sahdy,shaddy,shadyy,shayd,shday,shhady,sshady
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shady - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "shady"?
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Using “shady”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-H-A-D-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈʃeɪdi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “shy” - see the side-by-side comparison. shady vs shy
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.