Which to use
“consultant” is a noun and “consulting” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #5,775
- “consultant” frequency rank
- #6,452
- “consulting” frequency rank
- 12227
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | consultant | consulting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A person or party that is consulted. | present participle and gerund of consult |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set consultant and consulting apart are highlighted. They share 8 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: consultant is /kənˈsʌl.tənt/ while consulting is /kənˈsʌltɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 12227, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
consultant is recorded at frequency rank #5,775, classified as anoun, pronounced /kənˈsʌl.tənt/. consulting is at rank #6,452, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈsʌltɪŋ/.
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 12227, this pair ranks #482,746 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of consultant vs consulting
Shared letters: clnostu. Private to "consultant": a. Private to "consulting": gi.
"consultant" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "consulting" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- consultant ← cconsultant · cnosultant · connsultant · conslutant · conssultant · consulatnt · consulltant · consultannt
- consulting ← cconsulting · cnosulting · connsulting · consluting · conssulting · consulitng · consullting · consultign
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "consultant" and "consulting" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "consultant" or "consulting"?
Remembering consultant vs consulting
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “consultant”; for a verb, it's “consulting”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “consultant” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable