Which to use
“filling” and “fouling” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,221
- “filling” frequency rank
- #32,811
- “fouling” frequency rank
- 38032
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | filling | fouling |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of fill | present participle and gerund of foul |
Where the eye mixes filling and fouling
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses filling with fouling
A purely visual mix-up. filling (/ˈfɪlɪŋ/) and fouling (/ˈfaʊlɪŋ/) 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 38032, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
filling is recorded at frequency rank #5,221, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈfɪlɪŋ/. fouling is at rank #32,811, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈfaʊlɪŋ/.
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 38032, this pair ranks #289,412 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of filling vs fouling
Shared letters: fgiln. Private to "filling": -. Private to "fouling": ou.
"filling" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "fouling" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "filling" and "fouling" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "filling" vs "fouling" - 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 "filling" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "fouling" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #289,412 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "filling" and "fouling" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "fondling vs fouling". 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 #289,412 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.