shh

/ʃ̩ː/

//ʃ̩ː// intj

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

"shh" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shh” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #28,719) as an interjection. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#28,719
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Demanding silence.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shh · shh · English

shh · rank #28,719 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,719
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-0 0 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shipper

Nearest frequency peer: shipper (+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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “shh”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “shh” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

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).

shh vs so
33% similar
shh vs SI
0% similar
shh vs SS
0% similar

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

Key facts for shh
PropertyValue
Headwordshh
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/ʃ̩ː/
Letters3
Frequency rank#28,719
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “shh”

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).shhlands 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 “shipper” (#28,720), “sharpness” (#28,717), “sharpening” (#28,716). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “shh” is #28,719. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for shh is neighbouring look-alikes ("so", "SI", …), not just typos; it is aninterjection pronounced /ʃ̩ː/. Frequency #28,719 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 2 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for shh, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "SI", "SS", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From hush. Likely imitative of a nonverbal utterance. Compare Scots whisht (“hush!”). The correct English form is shh, spelled S-H-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Demanding silence.
  2. 2
    Comforting one who is crying.

Etymology

From hush. Likely imitative of a nonverbal utterance. Compare Scots whisht (“hush!”).

Synonyms

hushshush

This word in other languages

chito(Español)chut(Français)pst(Deutsch)psiu(Português)

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 "shh"?
"shh" is spelled S-H-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃ̩ː/.
What does "shh" mean?
As an interjection, "shh" means: Demanding silence.
What words are commonly confused with "shh"?
"shh" is commonly confused with "so", "SI", "SS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shh"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shh" is /ʃ̩ː/. 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 "shh"?
From hush. Likely imitative of a nonverbal utterance. Compare Scots whisht (“hush!”). 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 "shh", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

TEC#28,753pox#28,674tsk#28,765pes#28,668

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list