Shema

name

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

The verdict

“Shema” is uncommon English (frequency #92,061 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a proper noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#92,061
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The central declaration of faith of Judaism, recited at least twice daily by religious Jews.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shema · Shema · English

Shema · rank #92,061 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #92,061
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sheetrock

Nearest frequency peer: Sheetrock (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “Shema”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “Shema” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for Shema
PropertyValue
HeadwordShema
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
Letters5
Frequency rank#92,061
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “Shema” in English

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).Shemafalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “Sheetrock” (#92,060), “shearwater” (#92,059), “shoeshine” (#92,064). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “Shema” is #92,061. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Shema is uncommon English at frequency #92,061 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as aproper noun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "The central declaration of faith of Judaism, recited at least twice daily by religious Jews.".

Zero misspellings are on record for Shema in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Hebrew שְׁמַע. The correct English form is Shema, spelled S-H-E-M-A.

Definition

  1. 1
    The central declaration of faith of Judaism, recited at least twice daily by religious Jews.

Etymology

From Hebrew שְׁמַע.

Synonyms

Shema Yisrael

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 "Shema"?
"Shema" is spelled S-H-E-M-A.
What does "Shema" mean?
As a proper noun, "Shema" means: The central declaration of faith of Judaism, recited at least twice daily by religious Jews.
What is the origin of the word "Shema"?
From Hebrew שְׁמַע. 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 "Shema", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list