shi vs shun, What's the Difference?

Which to use

“shi” is an adverb and “shun” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#25,143
“shi” frequency rank: #33,617
“shun” frequency rank: 58760
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	shi	shun
Definition	exatamente; precisamente	evitar

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set shi and shun apart are highlighted. They share 2 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch

shi

4 ch

shun

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: shi is /ˈʃiː/ while shun is /ʃʌn/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (adverb vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 58760, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

shi is recorded at frequency rank #25,143, classified as anadv, pronounced /ˈʃiː/. shun is at rank #33,617, tagged as averb, pronounced /ʃʌn/.

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 58760, this pair ranks #8,558 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of shi vs shun

Shared letters: hs. Private to "shi": i. Private to "shun": nu.

"shi" · 3 letters · shape CCV · "shun" · 4 letters · shape CCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

shun ← hsun · shhun · shnu · shunn · sshun · suhn

Frequency comparison

shi#25,143

shun#33,617

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "shi" and "shun" be used interchangeably?

No - they are not even the same part of speech. "shi" is an adverb and "shun" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.

Which is more common, "shi" or "shun"?

"shi" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #25,143 in our Portuguese list, against #33,617 for "shun". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering shi vs shun

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

Check the role first: if you need an adverb, it's “shi”; for a verb, it's “shun”.
See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “shi” entry
Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable