Which to use
“counting” is a noun and “cunning” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #4,518
- “counting” frequency rank
- #15,999
- “cunning” frequency rank
- 20517
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | counting | cunning |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A count. | Sly; crafty; clever in surreptitious behaviour. |
Where the eye mixes counting and cunning
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. counting runs 8 letters (CVVCCVCC) against cunning's 7 (CVCCVCC) - the length gap alone is often enough to separate them once you know to check it.
Look-alike desk: counting vs cunning
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: counting is /ˈkaʊn.tɪŋ/ while cunning is /ˈkʌnɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 20517, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
counting is recorded at frequency rank #4,518, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈkaʊn.tɪŋ/. cunning is at rank #15,999, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈkʌnɪŋ/.
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 20517, this pair ranks #430,580 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of counting vs cunning
Shared letters: cginu. Private to "counting": ot. Private to "cunning": -.
"counting" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC · "cunning" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "counting" and "cunning" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Frequency check: "counting" vs "cunning" - which ranks higher?
After this comparison
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "counting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "cunning" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #430,580 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "counting" and "cunning" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "coining vs cunning". 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 #430,580 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.