panningvsparsingWhat's the difference?

Which to use

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

#39,015
“panning” frequency rank
#34,628
“parsing” frequency rank
73643
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature panning parsing
Definition The act of one who pans, as for gold. The act or process in which an agent (person or computer) parses something (a text, a program).

Where the spellings diverge

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

7 ch
panning
7 ch
parsing

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. panning (/ˈpænɪŋ/) and parsing (/ˈpɑː.zɪŋ/) 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 73643, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

panning is recorded at frequency rank #39,015, classified as anoun, pronounced /ˈpænɪŋ/. parsing is at rank #34,628, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈpɑː.zɪŋ/.

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 73643, this pair ranks #38,930 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of panning vs parsing

Shared letters: aginp. Private to "panning": -. Private to "parsing": rs.

"panning" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC  ·  "parsing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • panningapnning · paning · paninng · pannign · panningg · panninng · pannnig · pnaning
  • parsingaprsing · parisng · parrsing · parsign · parsingg · parsinng · parsnig · parssing

Frequency comparison

panning#39,015
parsing#34,628

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "panning" and "parsing" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈpænɪŋ/ versus /ˈpɑː.zɪŋ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "panning" or "parsing"?
"parsing" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,628 in our English list, against #39,015 for "panning". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering panning vs parsing

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 “panning” 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