Which to use
“expecting” and “exporting” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,491
- “expecting” frequency rank
- #16,466
- “exporting” frequency rank
- 19957
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | expecting | exporting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of expect | present participle and gerund of export |
Where the eye mixes expecting and exporting
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses expecting with exporting
A purely visual mix-up. expecting (/ɪkˈspɛktɪŋ/) and exporting (/ɪksˈpɔɹtɪŋ/) 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 19957, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
expecting is recorded at frequency rank #3,491, classified as averb, pronounced /ɪkˈspɛktɪŋ/. exporting is at rank #16,466, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɪksˈpɔɹtɪŋ/.
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 19957, this pair ranks #434,521 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of expecting vs exporting
Shared letters: eginptx. Private to "expecting": c. Private to "exporting": or.
"expecting" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC · "exporting" · 9 letters · shape VCCVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "expecting" for "exporting" ever safe?
Frequency check: "expecting" vs "exporting" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "expecting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "exporting" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #434,521 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "expecting" and "exporting" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "escorting vs exporting". 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 #434,521 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.