Which to use
“clinging” is a verb and “clogging” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #18,040
- “clinging” frequency rank
- #32,326
- “clogging” frequency rank
- 50366
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | clinging | clogging |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of cling | The situation of something being clogged. |
Letter map: clinging vs clogging
Shared letters muted; letters that set clinging and clogging apart highlighted. Shared run: 6. clinging and clogging follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Grammar separator: clinging vs clogging
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: clinging is averb and clogginganoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 50366, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
clinging is recorded at frequency rank #18,040, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈklɪŋɪŋ/. clogging is at rank #32,326, tagged as anoun.
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 50366, this pair ranks #174,965 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of clinging vs clogging
Shared letters: cgiln. Private to "clinging": -. Private to "clogging": o.
"clinging" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC · "clogging" · 8 letters · shape CCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "clinging" for "clogging" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "clinging" or "clogging" show up more?
Useful next steps
Pair "clinging" vs "clogging" is on the table, pick a follow-up below.
- Full dictionary entry for "clinging" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "clogging" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #174,965 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "clinging" and "clogging" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "clogging vs clouding". 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 #174,965 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.