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PlainSpell

shallow

shal·low/ˈʃæloʊ/adjective, noun, verb

shallow is spelled S-H-A-L-L-O-W: 7 letters and 2 syllables (shal·low). It appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, shallow means “Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in shallow?

Letters7: S-H-A-L-L-O-W
Syllables2: shal·low
In writing11 times per million words; the 6,674th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is shallow?

Shallow appears 11 times per million words in written English, the 6,674th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce shallow?

  • UK /ˈʃæləʊ/
  • US /ˈʃæloʊ/
  • /ˈʃalo/

Shallow has 2 syllables, split shal·low in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-shallow.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with shallow?

9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as shallow from its last stressed vowel (/æloʊ/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: hallows.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of shallow

  • shallower comparative
  • more shallow comparative
  • shallowest superlative
  • most shallow superlative
  • shallows plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • shallowing participle, present
  • shallowed participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does shallow mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.

    This crater is relatively shallow.

  2. 2

    Extending not far downward.

    The water is shallow here.

  3. 3

    Concerned mainly with superficial matters.

    It was a glamorous but shallow lifestyle.

  4. 4

    Lacking interest or substance; flat; one-dimensional.

    The acting is good, but the characters are shallow.

  5. 5

    Not intellectually deep; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing.

    shallow learning

  6. 6

    obsoleteNot deep in tone.

  7. 7

    Not far forward, close to the net.

  8. 8

    Not steep; close to horizontal.

    a shallow climb

noun

  1. 1

    A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.

    The ship ran aground in an unexpected shallow.

  2. 2

    A fish, the rudd.

  3. 3

    A costermonger's barrow.

  4. 4

    slangA shallow hotel pan.

    Coordinate term: deep

verb

  1. 1

    To make or become less deep.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate shallow?

Wiktionary records one abbreviation of shallow: shlw.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Shallow in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchpeu profond, superficiel, improfond (having little depth and significantly less deep…), haut-fond, baisse, bas-fond (shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of…)
Germanflach, seicht, untief (having little depth and significantly less deep…), Untiefe (shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of…), oberflächlich (concerned mainly with superficial matters)
Portugueseraso, superficial (having little depth and significantly less deep…), rasa (shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of…), desinteressante (lacking interest or substance)
Spanishno/poco/nada hondo/profundo, playo, somero (having little depth and significantly less deep…), bajo, bajofondo (shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does shallow come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after shallow