linkingvslistingWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“linking” and “listing” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#7,578
“linking” frequency rank
#4,171
“listing” frequency rank
11749
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature linking listing
Definition Serving to connect other things together. As listed or shown on a listing.

Where the eye mixes linking and listing

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.

7 ch
linking
7 ch
listing

Why the eye confuses linking with listing

A purely visual mix-up. linking (/ˈlɪŋkɪŋ/) and listing (/ˈlɪstɪŋ/) 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 11749, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

linking is recorded at frequency rank #7,578, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈlɪŋkɪŋ/. 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 11749, this pair ranks #485,353 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of linking vs listing

Shared letters: giln. Private to "linking": k. Private to "listing": st.

"linking" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "listing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • linkingilnking · likning · linikng · linkign · linkingg · linkinng · linkking · linknig
  • listingilsting · lisitng · lissting · listign · listingg · listinng · listnig · listting

Frequently Asked Questions

Do "linking" and "listing" mean the same thing in a sentence?
No. They are said differently (/ˈlɪŋkɪŋ/ versus /ˈlɪstɪŋ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Frequency check: "linking" vs "listing" - which ranks higher?
"listing" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,171 in our English list, against #7,578 for "linking". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "linking" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "listing" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #485,353 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "linking" and "listing" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "listing vs Liston". 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 #485,353 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list