Which to use
“shade” and “shape” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #35,345
- “shade” frequency rank
- #20,130
- “shape” frequency rank
- 55475
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | shade | shape |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | sombra | forma |
Letter map: shade vs shape
Shared letters muted; letters that set shade and shape apart highlighted. Shared run: 4.
Corpus notes: shade and shape
shade and shape are indexed as a confusable Portuguese pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they differ by a single letter - d in “shade” becomes p in “shape”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 55475, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
shade is recorded at frequency rank #35,345, classified as anoun. shape is at rank #20,130, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ʃeɪp/.
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 55475, this pair ranks #10,572 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.
Orthographic DNA of shade vs shape
Shared letters: aehs. Private to "shade": d. Private to "shape": p.
"shade" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV · "shape" · 5 letters · shape CCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "shade" for "shape" ever safe?
Frequency check: "shade" vs "shape" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "shade" and "shape".
- Full dictionary entry for "shade" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "shape" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #10,572 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "shade" and "shape" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "shade vs shire". 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 #10,572 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.