chasingvsclashingConfusable pair

Quick tell: chasing is a verb, clashing is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“chasing” is a verb and “clashing” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#5,864
“chasing” frequency rank
#32,324
“clashing” frequency rank
38188
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature chasing clashing
Definition present participle and gerund of chase conflicting, contrasting, or contrary; inconsonant, incompatible, or irreconcilable

Letter map: chasing vs clashing

Shared letters muted; letters that set chasing and clashing apart highlighted. Shared run: 6.

7 ch
chasing
8 ch
clashing

Grammar separator: chasing vs clashing

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: chasing is averb and clashinganadjective. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38188, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

chasing is recorded at frequency rank #5,864, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈt͡ʃeɪsɪŋ/. clashing is at rank #32,324, tagged as anadj.

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 38188, this pair ranks #288,102 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of chasing vs clashing

Shared letters: acghins. Private to "chasing": -. Private to "clashing": l.

"chasing" · 7 letters · shape CCVCVCC  ·  "clashing" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • chasingcahsing · cchasing · chaisng · chasign · chasingg · chasinng · chasnig · chassing
  • clashingcalshing · cclashing · clahsing · clashhing · clashign · clashingg · clashinng · clashnig

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "chasing" and "clashing" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "chasing" is a verb and "clashing" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Frequency check: "chasing" vs "clashing" - which ranks higher?
"chasing" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #5,864 in our English list, against #32,324 for "clashing". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

After this comparison

Pair "chasing" vs "clashing" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.

  • Full dictionary entry for "chasing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "clashing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #288,102 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "chasing" and "clashing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "caching vs clashing". 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 #288,102 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list