# barking vs blacking

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### barking
*verb · IPA /ˈbɑɹkɪŋ/ · frequency rank #14,698*
present participle and gerund of bark

### blacking
*noun · IPA /ˈblækɪŋ/ · frequency rank #48,625*
A preparation, containing lampblack, used to produce a shiny black coating.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/barking-vs-blacking