Check if a similar-looking word exists in a given string or paragraph.

similar_word.py

def similar_word(string, substring):
    threshold=2

    def levenshtein_distance(s1, s2):
        m, n = len(s1), len(s2)
        dp = [[0] * (n + 1) for _ in range(m + 1)]

        for i in range(m + 1):
            for j in range(n + 1):
                if i == 0: dp[i][j] = j
                elif j == 0: dp[i][j] = i
                elif s1[i - 1] == s2[j - 1]: dp[i][j] = dp[i - 1][j - 1]
                else: dp[i][j] = 1 + min(dp[i - 1][j], dp[i][j - 1], dp[i - 1][j - 1])
        return dp[m][n]

    for i in range(len(string) - len(substring) + 1):
        distance = levenshtein_distance(string[i:i + len(substring)], substring)
        if distance <= threshold: return True
    
    return False
    

A simple Python function that uses Levenshtein distancing and string splitting to check if a similar-looking word exists in a given string or paragraph.

String: The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs
Search: doggies
Result: True

Search: cat
Result: False