Which to use
“hitting” and “hurting” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #3,238
- “hitting” frequency rank
- #5,974
- “hurting” frequency rank
- 9212
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | hitting | hurting |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A series of hits or blows directed at a person or object. | A sensation that hurts. |
Letter map: hitting vs hurting
Shared letters muted; letters that set hitting and hurting apart highlighted. Shared run: 5.
Spelling & dictionary notes on hitting vs hurting
hitting and hurting are indexed as a confusable English pair. We have no recorded pronunciation or part of speech for both members, so the spelling overlap is what we can show you: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 9212, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
hitting is recorded at frequency rank #3,238, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈhɪtɪŋ/. hurting is at rank #5,974, tagged as anoun.
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 9212, this pair ranks #498,535 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of hitting vs hurting
Shared letters: ghint. Private to "hitting": -. Private to "hurting": ru.
"hitting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "hurting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "hitting" and "hurting" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "hitting" or "hurting"?
What to do next
Done with this confusable. These links stay specific to "hitting" and "hurting".
- Full dictionary entry for "hitting" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "hurting" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #498,535 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "hitting" and "hurting" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "hurting vs hurtling". 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 #498,535 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.