Which to use
“shop” and “show” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #21,496
- “shop” frequency rank
- #1,997
- “show” frequency rank
- 23493
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shop | show |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tienda, negocio, comercio. | Espectáculo. |
Where the eye mixes shop and show
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between shop and show
A purely visual mix-up. shop (/ʃɒp/) 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 a single letter - p in “shop” becomes w in “show”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23493, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shop is recorded at frequency rank #21,496, classified as anoun, pronounced /ʃɒp/. 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 23493, this pair ranks #245,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of shop vs show
Shared letters: hos. Private to "shop": p. Private to "show": w.
"shop" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "show" · 4 letters · shape CCVC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "shop" for "show" ever safe?
Frequency check: "shop" vs "show" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shop" 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 #245,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shop" and "show" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shop 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 #245,550 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.