Which to use
“licking” is a noun and “liking” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,784
- “licking” frequency rank
- #7,245
- “liking” frequency rank
- 22029
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | licking | liking |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act by which something is licked. | present participle and gerund of like |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set licking and liking apart are highlighted. They share 6 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: licking is /ˈlɪkɪŋ/ while liking is /ˈlaɪkɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22029, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
licking is recorded at frequency rank #14,784, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈlɪkɪŋ/. liking is at rank #7,245, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlaɪkɪŋ/.
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 22029, this pair ranks #419,589 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of licking vs liking
Shared letters: gikln. Private to "licking": c. Private to "liking": -.
"licking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "liking" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "licking" and "liking" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "licking" or "liking"?
Remembering licking vs liking
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “licking”; for a verb, it's “liking”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “licking” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable