loaningvslosingWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#44,905
“loaning” frequency rank
#1,487
“losing” frequency rank
46392
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature loaning losing
Definition present participle and gerund of loan present participle and gerund of lose

Where the eye mixes loaning and losing

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

7 ch
loaning
6 ch
losing

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. loaning (/ˈləʊnɪŋ/) and losing (/ˈluːzɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 46392, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

loaning is recorded at frequency rank #44,905, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈləʊnɪŋ/. losing is at rank #1,487, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈluːzɪŋ/.

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 46392, this pair ranks #212,194 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of loaning vs losing

Shared letters: gilno. Private to "loaning": a. Private to "losing": s.

"loaning" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC  ·  "losing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • loaninglaoning · lloaning · loainng · loanign · loaningg · loaninng · loannig · loanning
  • losingllosing · loisng · losign · losingg · losinng · losnig · lossing · lsoing

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "loaning" and "losing" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈləʊnɪŋ/ versus /ˈluːzɪŋ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "loaning" or "losing"?
"losing" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #1,487 in our English list, against #44,905 for "loaning". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list