Which to use
“failing” and “fanning” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #4,301
- “failing” frequency rank
- #25,055
- “fanning” frequency rank
- 29356
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | failing | fanning |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of fail | present participle and gerund of fan |
Where the eye mixes failing and fanning
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: failing vs fanning
A purely visual mix-up. failing (/ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/) and fanning (/ˈfænɪŋ/) 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 29356, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
failing is recorded at frequency rank #4,301, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfeɪ.lɪŋ/. fanning is at rank #25,055, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfænɪŋ/.
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 29356, this pair ranks #363,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of failing vs fanning
Shared letters: afgin. Private to "failing": l. Private to "fanning": -.
"failing" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "fanning" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "failing" and "fanning" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "failing" or "fanning"?
Useful next steps
Eye-level mix-up between "failing" and "fanning" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "failing" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fanning" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #363,675 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "failing" and "fanning" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fanning vs fawning". 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 #363,675 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.