Which to use
“lending” is a noun and “longing” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #8,685
- “lending” frequency rank
- #14,989
- “longing” frequency rank
- 23674
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | lending | longing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The action of, or an instance of the action of the verb to lend. | present participle and gerund of long |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set lending and longing apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: lending is anoun and longingaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 23674, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
lending is recorded at frequency rank #8,685, classified as anoun. longing is at rank #14,989, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlɒŋɪŋ/.
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 23674, this pair ranks #407,577 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of lending vs longing
Shared letters: giln. Private to "lending": de. Private to "longing": o.
"lending" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "longing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "lending" and "longing" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "lending" or "longing"?
Remembering lending vs longing
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “lending”; for a verb, it's “longing”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “lending” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable