# patting vs paying

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### patting
*noun · IPA /ˈpætɪŋ/ · frequency rank #32,530*
The act by which something is patted.

### paying
*verb · IPA /ˈpeɪ.ɪŋ/ · frequency rank #1,834*
present participle and gerund of pay

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/patting-vs-paying