Which to use
“containing” and “continuing” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,418
- “containing” frequency rank
- #3,101
- “continuing” frequency rank
- 6519
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | containing | continuing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of contain | present participle and gerund of continue |
Where the eye mixes containing and continuing
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 9 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses containing with continuing
A purely visual mix-up. containing (/kənˈteɪnɪŋ/) and continuing (/kənˈtɪn.juːɪŋ/) 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 3 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 6519, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
containing is recorded at frequency rank #3,418, classified as averb, pronounced /kənˈteɪnɪŋ/. continuing is at rank #3,101, tagged as averb, pronounced /kənˈtɪn.juːɪŋ/.
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 6519, this pair ranks #511,090 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of containing vs continuing
Shared letters: cginot. Private to "containing": a. Private to "continuing": u.
"containing" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVVCVCC · "continuing" · 10 letters · shape CVCCVCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- containing ← ccontaining · cnotaining · conatining · conntaining · contaiinng · containign · containingg · containinng
- continuing ← ccontinuing · cnotinuing · conitnuing · conntinuing · continiung · continnuing · continuign · continuingg
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "containing" and "continuing" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "containing" vs "continuing" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "containing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "continuing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #511,090 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "containing" and "continuing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "contending vs continuing". 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 #511,090 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.