# paying vs playing

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

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

### playing
*noun · IPA /ˈpleɪ.ɪŋ/ · frequency rank #424*
An occasion on which something, such as a song or show, is played.

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