Which to use
“adding” and “aiming” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #2,140
- “adding” frequency rank
- #8,383
- “aiming” frequency rank
- 10523
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | adding | aiming |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of add | present participle and gerund of aim |
Where the eye mixes adding and aiming
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: adding vs aiming
A purely visual mix-up. adding (/ˈæ.dɪŋ/) and aiming (/ˈeɪ.mɪŋ/) 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 10523, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
adding is recorded at frequency rank #2,140, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈæ.dɪŋ/. aiming is at rank #8,383, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈeɪ.mɪŋ/.
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 10523, this pair ranks #491,893 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of adding vs aiming
Shared letters: agin. Private to "adding": d. Private to "aiming": m.
"adding" · 6 letters · shape VCCVCC · "aiming" · 6 letters · shape VVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "adding" for "aiming" ever safe?
Which is more common, "adding" or "aiming"?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "adding" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "aiming" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #491,893 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "adding" and "aiming" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "aiming vs awning". 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 #491,893 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.