Which to use
“shows” and “spots” are a confusable French pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,271
- “shows” frequency rank
- #19,161
- “spots” frequency rank
- 36432
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shows | spots |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Pluriel de show. | Pluriel de spot. |
Where the eye mixes shows and spots
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses shows with spots
A purely visual mix-up. shows (\ʃo\) and spots (\spɔt\) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 36432, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shows is recorded at frequency rank #17,271, classified as anoun, pronounced \ʃo\. spots is at rank #19,161, tagged as anoun, pronounced \spɔt\.
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 36432, this pair ranks #269,657 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of shows vs spots
Shared letters: os. Private to "shows": hw. Private to "spots": pt.
"shows" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC · "spots" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "shows" and "spots" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "shows" vs "spots" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "shows" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spots" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #269,657 of 440,172 scored French confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shows" and "spots" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shower vs shows". 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 #269,657 of 440,172 scored French pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.