sheng

/ʃʌŋ/

//ʃʌŋ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“sheng” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #34,283. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#34,283
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A Chinese wind instrument, a free-reed mouth organ consisting of 13 or more bamboo pipes of various lengths, which are fixed at their bases in a wind chest made from a dried gourd (or, more recentl...

Corpus desk

Index EN-sheng · sheng · English

sheng · rank #34,283 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #34,283
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shelving

Nearest frequency peer: shelving (-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 “sheng”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sheng” 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).

sheng vs song
60% similar
sheng vs sing
60% similar
sheng vs sung
60% similar

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

Key facts for sheng
PropertyValue
Headwordsheng
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃʌŋ/
Letters5
Frequency rank#34,283
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sheng”

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).shenglands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “shelving” (#34,282), “sifting” (#34,284), “shearing” (#34,281). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sheng” is #34,283. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sheng (IPA /ʃʌŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #34,283 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A Chinese wind instrument, a free-reed mouth organ consisting of 13 or more bamboo pipes of various lengths, which are fixed at their bases in a wind chest made from a dried gourd (or, more recentl...".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for sheng, with forms such as "hseng", "sehng", and "shegn". 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, "song", "sing", "sung", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Mandarin 笙 (shēng). The correct English form is sheng, spelled S-H-E-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A Chinese wind instrument, a free-reed mouth organ consisting of 13 or more bamboo pipes of various lengths, which are fixed at their bases in a wind chest made from a dried gourd (or, more recently, wood or chrome-plated brass).

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. The appearance of a sheng in Paris at the end of the eighteenth century inspired the development of free reed instruments in Western Europe, including the harmonica, accordion, and symphonium (see next page).

Etymology

From Mandarin 笙 (shēng).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hseng
  • sehng
  • shegn
  • shengg
  • shenng
  • shheng
  • shneg
  • ssheng

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hseng2sehng2shegn2shengg1shenng1shheng1shneg2ssheng1
Edit distance from "sheng"

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 "sheng"?
"sheng" is spelled S-H-E-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃʌŋ/.
What does "sheng" mean?
As a noun, "sheng" means: A Chinese wind instrument, a free-reed mouth organ consisting of 13 or more bamboo pipes of various lengths, which are fixed at their bases in a wind chest made from a dried gourd (or, more recentl...
What words are commonly confused with "sheng"?
"sheng" is commonly confused with "song", "sing", "sung". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sheng"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sheng" is /ʃʌŋ/. 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 "sheng"?
From Mandarin 笙 (shēng). 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 "sheng", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Sadiq#34,269tipsy#34,319topaz#34,322prawn#34,231

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

Samoan8 variantsrisotto8 variantsregatta8 variantstirade8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list