Which to use
“choking” is a noun and “choosing” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #13,299
- “choking” frequency rank
- #4,583
- “choosing” frequency rank
- 17882
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | choking | choosing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The process in which a person's airway becomes blocked, resulting in asphyxia in cases that are not treated promptly. | present participle and gerund of choose |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set choking and choosing apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
choking and choosing form a confusable pair in the English index, two distinct headwords that are easily confused because they look alike, sound alike, or both. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length - close enough that the eye skips over the difference, far enough that meaning fully diverges. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17882, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
choking is recorded at frequency rank #13,299, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈtʃəʊkɪŋ/. choosing is at rank #4,583, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈt͡ʃuːzɪŋ/.
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 17882, this pair ranks #448,511 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "choking" and "choosing" be used interchangeably?
Remembering choking vs choosing
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “choking”; for a verb, it's “choosing”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “choking” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable