Shem

name

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

"shem" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Shem” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #40,019. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#40,019
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The oldest son of Noah, brother to Ham and Japheth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shem · Shem · English

Shem · rank #40,019 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #40,019
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Shatner

Nearest frequency peer: Shatner (-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 “Shem”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Shem” 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).

Shem vs SM
25% similar
Shem vs sum
25% similar
Shem vs sue
25% similar

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

Key facts for Shem
PropertyValue
HeadwordShem
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters4
Frequency rank#40,019
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Shem”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).Shemlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “Shatner” (#40,018), “shim” (#40,020), “shareholding” (#40,017). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “Shem” is #40,019. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around Shem, aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #40,019 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The oldest son of Noah, brother to Ham and Japheth.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for Shem, with forms such as "hsem", "sehm", and "shemm". 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, "SM", "sum", "sue", 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 Ancient Greek Σήμ (Sḗm), from Hebrew שם (Šēm). The correct English form is Shem, spelled S-H-E-M.

Definition

  1. 1
    The oldest son of Noah, brother to Ham and Japheth.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. And the sonnes of Noah that went forth of the Arke, were Shem, and Ham, and Iaphet: and Ham is the father of Canaan.

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Σήμ (Sḗm), from Hebrew שם (Šēm).

This word in other languages

Sem(Español)Sem(Français)Sem(Deutsch)Sem(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsem
  • sehm
  • shemm
  • shhem
  • shme
  • sshem

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Shem - 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.

hsem2sehm2shemm1shhem1shme2sshem1
Edit distance from "Shem"

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 "Shem"?
"Shem" is spelled S-H-E-M.
What does "Shem" mean?
As a proper noun, "Shem" means: The oldest son of Noah, brother to Ham and Japheth.
What words are commonly confused with "Shem"?
"Shem" is commonly confused with "SM", "sum", "sue". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "Shem"?
From Ancient Greek Σήμ (Sḗm), from Hebrew שם (Šēm). 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 "Shem", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

shim#40,020sian#40,022soya#40,026sacs#40,005

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

stig6 variantsamiga6 variantsbakes6 variantsbally6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list