namingvsnotingWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: naming is a noun, noting is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“naming” is a noun and “noting” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#8,579
“naming” frequency rank
#7,160
“noting” frequency rank
15739
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature naming noting
Definition The process of giving names to things. present participle and gerund of note

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set naming and noting apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
naming
6 ch
noting

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: naming is /ˈneɪmɪŋ/ while noting is /ˈnoʊtɪŋ/. 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 verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15739, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

naming is recorded at frequency rank #8,579, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈneɪmɪŋ/. noting is at rank #7,160, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈnoʊtɪŋ/.

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 15739, this pair ranks #462,110 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of naming vs noting

Shared letters: gin. Private to "naming": am. Private to "noting": ot.

"naming" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "noting" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • naminganming · naimng · namign · namingg · naminng · namming · namnig · nmaing
  • notingnnoting · noitng · notign · notingg · notinng · notnig · notting · ntoing

Frequency comparison

naming#8,579
noting#7,160

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "naming" and "noting" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "naming" is a noun and "noting" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "naming" or "noting"?
"noting" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #7,160 in our English list, against #8,579 for "naming". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering naming vs noting

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “naming”; for a verb, it's “noting”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “naming” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list