Sheba

/ˈʃiːbə/

//ˈʃiːbə// name

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

"sheba" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Sheba” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #39,558. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#39,558
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A former kingdom in the Red Sea region. An ancient kingdom in Arabia or possibly in Africa. Frequently equated with ancient Saba.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sheba · Sheba · English

Sheba · rank #39,558 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #39,558
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shat

Nearest frequency peer: shat (-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 “Sheba”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Sheba” 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).

Sheba vs shed
40% similar
Sheba vs Shen
60% similar
Sheba vs shep
40% similar

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

Key facts for Sheba
PropertyValue
HeadwordSheba
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈʃiːbə/
Letters5
Frequency rank#39,558
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Sheba”

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).Shebalands 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 “shat” (#39,557), “shrew” (#39,560), “shanty” (#39,554). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “Sheba” is #39,558. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around Sheba (IPA /ˈʃiːbə/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #39,558 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for Sheba, with forms such as "hseba", "sehba", and "shbea". 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, "shed", "Shen", "shep", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Biblical Hebrew שְׁבָא (Šəḇāʾ). The correct English form is Sheba, spelled S-H-E-B-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    A former kingdom in the Red Sea region. An ancient kingdom in Arabia or possibly in Africa. Frequently equated with ancient Saba.
  2. 2
    A male given name from Hebrew.
  3. 3
    The 34th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions.
  2. And there happened to be there a man of Belial, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bichri, a Benjamite: and he blew a trumpet, and said, We have no part in David, neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to his tents, O Israel.

Etymology

From Biblical Hebrew שְׁבָא (Šəḇāʾ).

Synonyms

Saba

This word in other languages

Saba(Deutsch)Sabá(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hseba
  • sehba
  • shbea
  • sheab
  • shebba
  • shheba
  • ssheba

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Sheba - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

hseba2sehba2shbea2sheab2shebba1shheba1ssheba1
Edit distance from "Sheba"

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 "Sheba"?
"Sheba" is spelled S-H-E-B-A. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃiːbə/.
What does "Sheba" mean?
As a proper noun, "Sheba" means: A former kingdom in the Red Sea region. An ancient kingdom in Arabia or possibly in Africa. Frequently equated with ancient Saba.
What words are commonly confused with "Sheba"?
"Sheba" is commonly confused with "shed", "Shen", "shep". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Sheba"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Sheba" is /ˈʃiːbə/. 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 "Sheba"?
From Biblical Hebrew שְׁבָא (Šəḇāʾ). 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 "Sheba", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shrew#39,560shush#39,562soapy#39,572rishi#39,537

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

redox7 variantsTallinn7 variantsquash7 variantsThiel7 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list