Which to use
“scan” and “sha” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,267
- “scan” frequency rank
- #33,895
- “sha” frequency rank
- 51162
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | scan | sha |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Scanner, examen radiologique. | Sol, terre. |
Where the eye mixes scan and sha
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between scan and sha
A purely visual mix-up. scan (\skan\) and sha (\sha\) 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 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 51162, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
scan is recorded at frequency rank #17,267, classified as anoun, pronounced \skan\. sha is at rank #33,895, tagged as anoun, pronounced \sha\.
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 51162, this pair ranks #157,100 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of scan vs sha
Shared letters: as. Private to "scan": cn. Private to "sha": h.
"scan" · 4 letters · shape CCVC · "sha" · 3 letters · shape CCV
Known mistypes of this pair
- scan ← csan · sacn · scann · sccan · scna · sscan
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "scan" and "sha" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "scan" or "sha"?
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 "scan" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "sha" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #157,100 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "scan" and "sha" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sha vs suu". 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 #157,100 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.