Which to use
“shadow” and “show” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #23,948
- “shadow” frequency rank
- #1,997
- “show” frequency rank
- 25945
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shadow | show |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Sombra. | Espectáculo. |
Where the eye mixes shadow and show
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses shadow with show
A purely visual mix-up. shadow (/ˈʃæd.əʊ/) and show ([ˈʃow]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 2 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 25945, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shadow is recorded at frequency rank #23,948, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈʃæd.əʊ/. show is at rank #1,997, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʃow].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 25945, this pair ranks #234,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of shadow vs show
Shared letters: hosw. Private to "shadow": ad. Private to "show": -.
"shadow" · 6 letters · shape CCVCVC · "show" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "shadow" for "show" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "shadow" or "show" show up more?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "shadow" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "show" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #234,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shadow" and "show" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "show vs snob". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #234,063 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.