Which to use
“licking” is a noun and “listing” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #14,784
- “licking” frequency rank
- #4,171
- “listing” frequency rank
- 18955
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | licking | listing |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | The act by which something is licked. | As listed or shown on a listing. |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set licking and listing apart are highlighted. They share 5 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 listing is /ˈlɪstɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 18955, 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/. listing is at rank #4,171, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɪstɪŋ/.
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 18955, this pair ranks #441,473 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of licking vs listing
Shared letters: giln. Private to "licking": ck. Private to "listing": st.
"licking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "listing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "licking" and "listing" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "licking" or "listing"?
Remembering licking vs listing
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “licking”; for an adjective, it's “listing”.
- 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