pagingvspastingWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#30,907
“paging” frequency rank
#37,147
“pasting” frequency rank
68054
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature paging pasting
Definition The arrangement of pages in a book or other publication. The act of applying paste to something, or affixing something using paste.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set paging and pasting apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
paging
7 ch
pasting

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. paging (/ˈpeɪd͡ʒɪŋ/) and pasting (/ˈpeɪstɪŋ/) 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 68054, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

paging is recorded at frequency rank #30,907, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpeɪd͡ʒɪŋ/. pasting is at rank #37,147, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpeɪstɪŋ/.

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 68054, this pair ranks #60,648 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of paging vs pasting

Shared letters: aginp. Private to "paging": -. Private to "pasting": st.

"paging" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "pasting" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • pagingapging · pagging · pagign · pagingg · paginng · pagnig · paigng · pgaing
  • pastingapsting · pasitng · passting · pastign · pastingg · pastinng · pastnig · pastting

Frequency comparison

paging#30,907
pasting#37,147

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "paging" and "pasting" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpeɪd͡ʒɪŋ/ versus /ˈpeɪstɪŋ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "paging" or "pasting"?
"paging" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #30,907 in our English list, against #37,147 for "pasting". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering paging vs pasting

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “paging” 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