Which to use
“raining” is a verb and “reigning” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #10,917
- “raining” frequency rank
- #16,110
- “reigning” frequency rank
- 27027
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raining | reigning |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of rain | Currently ruling or holding a position. |
Same sound, different letters: raining vs reigning
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 6 letters.
Homophone desk: raining vs reigning
Say them out loud and nothing separates them: raining and reigning carry the same recorded pronunciation, /ˈɹeɪnɪŋ/. Grammar is what tells them apart: one is averb, the other anadjective, so most sentences will only accept one of them. They differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 27027, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
raining is recorded at frequency rank #10,917, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈɹeɪnɪŋ/. reigning is at rank #16,110, tagged as anadj, pronounced /ˈɹeɪnɪŋ/.
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 27027, this pair ranks #382,202 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of raining vs reigning
Shared letters: ginr. Private to "raining": a. Private to "reigning": e.
"raining" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "reigning" · 8 letters · shape CVVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "raining" and "reigning" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "raining" or "reigning"?
Useful next steps
You've separated the homophone pair "raining" / "reigning". Follow the links when you need the full entry or a neighbour that trips the same ear.
- Full dictionary entry for "raining" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "reigning" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #382,202 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raining" and "reigning" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "raining vs rinsing". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #382,202 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.