Which to use
“completing” is a verb and “computing” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #6,451
- “completing” frequency rank
- #6,344
- “computing” frequency rank
- 12795
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | completing | computing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of complete | The process or act of calculation. |
Where the eye mixes completing and computing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses completing with computing
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: completing is /kəmˈpliːtɪŋ/ while computing is /kəmˈpjuːtɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12795, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
completing is recorded at frequency rank #6,451, classified as averb, pronounced /kəmˈpliːtɪŋ/. computing is at rank #6,344, tagged as anoun, pronounced /kəmˈpjuːtɪŋ/.
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 12795, this pair ranks #479,519 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of completing vs computing
Shared letters: cgimnopt. Private to "completing": el. Private to "computing": u.
"completing" · 10 letters · shape CVCCCVCVCC · "computing" · 9 letters · shape CVCCVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- completing ← ccompleting · cmopleting · comlpeting · commpleting · compelting · compleitng · completign · completingg
- computing ← ccomputing · cmoputing · commputing · compputing · comptuing · compuitng · computign · computingg
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "completing" for "computing" ever safe?
In ordinary English text, does "completing" or "computing" show up more?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "completing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "computing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #479,519 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "completing" and "computing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "completing vs composting". 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 #479,519 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.