Which to use
“concerning” is an adjective and “conferring” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,221
- “concerning” frequency rank
- #38,789
- “conferring” frequency rank
- 43010
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | concerning | conferring |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Causing concern; worrying. | The act of one who confers. |
Letter map: concerning vs conferring
Shared letters muted; letters that set concerning and conferring apart highlighted. Shared run: 8. concerning and conferring follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCCVCCVCC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Grammar separator: concerning vs conferring
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: concerning is anadjective and conferringanoun. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 43010, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
concerning is recorded at frequency rank #4,221, classified as anadj, pronounced /kənˈsɝnɪŋ/. conferring is at rank #38,789, 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 43010, this pair ranks #244,068 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of concerning vs conferring
Shared letters: ceginor. Private to "concerning": -. Private to "conferring": f.
"concerning" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "conferring" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- concerning ← cconcerning · cnocerning · cocnerning · conccerning · concenring · concerinng · concernign · concerningg
- conferring ← cconferring · cnoferring · cofnerring · conefrring · confering · conferirng · conferrign · conferringg
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "concerning" and "conferring" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "concerning" or "conferring"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "concerning" and "conferring".
- Full dictionary entry for "concerning" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "conferring" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #244,068 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "concerning" and "conferring" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "conferring vs converging". 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 #244,068 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.