Which to use
“raining” and “running” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #10,917
- “raining” frequency rank
- #596
- “running” frequency rank
- 11513
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | raining | running |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of rain | present participle and gerund of run |
Where the eye mixes raining and running
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: raining vs running
A purely visual mix-up. raining (/ˈɹeɪnɪŋ/) and running (/ˈɹʌniŋ/) 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 11513, 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/. running is at rank #596, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈɹʌniŋ/.
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 11513, this pair ranks #486,619 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of raining vs running
Shared letters: ginr. Private to "raining": a. Private to "running": u.
"raining" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "running" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "raining" and "running" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "raining" vs "running" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "raining" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "running" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #486,619 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "raining" and "running" 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 #486,619 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.