shaman

/ˈʃɑːmən/

//ˈʃɑːmən// noun

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

"shaman" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shaman” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,932. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,932
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A traditional faith healer.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shaman · shaman · English

shaman · rank #21,932 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #21,932
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shatter

Nearest frequency peer: shatter (+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 “shaman”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “shaman” 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).

shaman vs shan
67% similar
shaman vs shame
67% similar
shaman vs Shawn
50% similar

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

Key facts for shaman
PropertyValue
Headwordshaman
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃɑːmən/
Letters6
Frequency rank#21,932
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “shaman”

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).shamanlands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “shatter” (#21,933), “sexiest” (#21,930), “shepherds” (#21,934). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shaman” is #21,932. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around shaman (IPA /ˈʃɑːmən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,932 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for shaman, with forms such as "hsaman", "sahman", and "shaamn". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "shan", "shame", "Shawn", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from German Schamane, from Russian шама́н (šamán), from Evenki шама̄н (şamān), сама̄н (samān), from Proto-Tungusic *samān. The Evenki word is possibly derived from the root ша- (şa-, “to know”); or else a loanword from Tocharian B ṣamāne (“monk”) o… The correct English form is shaman, spelled S-H-A-M-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A traditional faith healer.
  2. 2
    A member of certain tribal societies who acts as a spiritual or religious medium between the concrete and spirit worlds; sometimes also a healer.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Near-synonyms: medicine man, medicine woman, priest-doctor, witch doctor
  2. Shepard: What rites did you go through to become chief shaman? Shaman: Becoming the shaman is excruciating. I passed through rites that made me wish to die. I carry the scars on my soul. Shaman: I must perform rites each dawn and dusk to keep me bound into our krogan nature. Our spirit is one of violence and death. I must be attuned to that.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Schamane, from Russian шама́н (šamán), from Evenki шама̄н (şamān), сама̄н (samān), from Proto-Tungusic *samān. The Evenki word is possibly derived from the root ша- (şa-, “to know”); or else a loanword from Tocharian B ṣamāne (“monk”) or Chinese 沙門 /沙门 (shāmén, “Buddhist monk”), from Pali samaṇa from Sanskrit श्रमण (śramaṇa, “ascetic, monk, devotee”), from श्रम (śrama, “weariness, exhaustion; labor, toil; etc.”), which would make this a doublet of sramana.

This word in other languages

chamán(Español)chamane(Français)Schamane(Deutsch)xamã(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsaman
  • sahman
  • shaamn
  • shamann
  • shamman
  • shamna
  • shhaman
  • shmaan
  • sshaman

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hsaman2sahman2shaamn2shamann1shamman1shamna2shhaman1shmaan2
Edit distance from "shaman"

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 "shaman"?
"shaman" is spelled S-H-A-M-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃɑːmən/.
What does "shaman" mean?
As a noun, "shaman" means: A traditional faith healer.
What words are commonly confused with "shaman"?
"shaman" is commonly confused with "shan", "shame", "Shawn". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shaman"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shaman" is /ˈʃɑːmən/. 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 "shaman"?
Borrowed from German Schamane, from Russian шама́н (šamán), from Evenki шама̄н (şamān), сама̄н (samān), from Proto-Tungusic *samān. The Evenki word is possibly derived from the root ша- (şa-, “to know”); or else a loanword from Tocharian B ṣamāne ... 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 "shaman", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

squirt#21,944Saigon#21,919Sabine#21,918thingy#21,962

Similar misspelling depth

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

shatter9 variantsseaweed9 variantsversed9 variantsMendes9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list