Which to use
“contacting” and “containing” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #13,311
- “contacting” frequency rank
- #3,418
- “containing” frequency rank
- 16729
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | contacting | containing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of contact | present participle and gerund of contain |
Where the eye mixes contacting and containing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 8 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses contacting with containing
A purely visual mix-up. contacting (/ˈkɑntæktɪŋ/) and containing (/kənˈteɪnɪŋ/) 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 16729, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
contacting is recorded at frequency rank #13,311, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈkɑntæktɪŋ/. containing is at rank #3,418, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈteɪnɪŋ/.
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 16729, this pair ranks #455,917 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of contacting vs containing
Shared letters: acginot. Private to "contacting": -. Private to "containing": -.
"contacting" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCCVCC · "containing" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- contacting ← ccontacting · cnotacting · conatcting · conntacting · contaccting · contacitng · contactign · contactingg
- containing ← ccontaining · cnotaining · conatining · conntaining · contaiinng · containign · containingg · containinng
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "contacting" and "containing" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "contacting" vs "containing" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "contacting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "containing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #455,917 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "contacting" and "containing" 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 #455,917 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.