Which to use
“connecting” and “contacting” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,486
- “connecting” frequency rank
- #13,311
- “contacting” frequency rank
- 18797
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | connecting | contacting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of connect | present participle and gerund of contact |
Where the eye mixes connecting and contacting
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses connecting with contacting
A purely visual mix-up. connecting (/kəˈnɛktɪŋ/) and contacting (/ˈkɑntæktɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18797, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
connecting is recorded at frequency rank #5,486, classified as averb, pronounced /kəˈnɛktɪŋ/. contacting is at rank #13,311, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈkɑntæktɪŋ/.
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 18797, this pair ranks #442,470 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of connecting vs contacting
Shared letters: cginot. Private to "connecting": e. Private to "contacting": a.
"connecting" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "contacting" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- connecting ← cconnecting · cnonecting · conecting · conencting · connceting · conneccting · connecitng · connectign
- contacting ← ccontacting · cnotacting · conatcting · conntacting · contaccting · contacitng · contactign · contactingg
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "connecting" and "contacting" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "connecting" vs "contacting" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "connecting" and "contacting" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "connecting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "contacting" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #442,470 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "connecting" and "contacting" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contacting vs contesting". 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 #442,470 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.