shallow

/ˈʃæl.oʊ/

//ˈʃæl.oʊ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shallow" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shallow” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,733. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,733
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shallow · shallow · English

shallow · rank #6,733 · 9 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,733
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH RT

Nearest frequency peer: RT (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “shallow”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “shallow” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shallow vs shalom
71% similar
shallow vs swallow
86% similar
shallow vs shallows
88% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shallow
PropertyValue
Headwordshallow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈʃæl.oʊ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,733
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shallow”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).shallowlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “RT” (#6,732), “shanghai” (#6,734), “resigned” (#6,731). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shallow” is #6,733. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around shallow (IPA /ˈʃæl.oʊ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #6,733 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for shallow, with forms such as "hsallow", "sahllow", and "shalloww". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "shalom", "swallow", "shallows", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English schalowe (“not deep, shallow”); apparently related to Middle English schalde, schold, scheld, schealde (“shallow”), from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), from Proto-Germanic *skal-, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, dry out”… The correct English form is shallow, spelled S-H-A-L-L-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.
  2. 2
    Extending not far downward.
  3. 3
    Concerned mainly with superficial matters.
  4. 4
    Lacking interest or substance; flat; one-dimensional.
  5. 5
    Not intellectually deep; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing.
  6. 6
    Not deep in tone.
  7. 7
    Not far forward, close to the net.
  8. 8
    Not steep; close to horizontal.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shallow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This crater is relatively shallow.
  2. Sauté the onions in a shallow pan.

Etymology

From Middle English schalowe (“not deep, shallow”); apparently related to Middle English schalde, schold, scheld, schealde (“shallow”), from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), from Proto-Germanic *skal-, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, dry out”). Related to Low German Scholl (“shallow water”). See also shoal.

Synonyms

shallowsuperficial

Antonyms

deep

This word in other languages

playo(Español)superficiel(Français)flach(Deutsch)raso(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsallow
  • sahllow
  • shalloww
  • shallwo
  • shalolw
  • shalow
  • shhallow
  • shlalow
  • sshallow

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shallow - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hsallow2sahllow2shalloww1shallwo2shalolw2shalow1shhallow1shlalow2
Edit distance from "shallow"

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 "shallow"?
"shallow" is spelled S-H-A-L-L-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃæl.oʊ/.
What does "shallow" mean?
As an adjective, "shallow" means: Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.
What words are commonly confused with "shallow"?
"shallow" is commonly confused with "shalom", "swallow", "shallows". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shallow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shallow" is /ˈʃæl.oʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shallow"?
From Middle English schalowe (“not deep, shallow”); apparently related to Middle English schalde, schold, scheld, schealde (“shallow”), from Old English sċeald (“shallow”), from Proto-Germanic *skal-, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shallow", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

pricing#6,725planted#6,724sponsor#6,742strings#6,744

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

sunset9 variantstrades9 variantsnewest9 variantsyelling9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list