Which to use
“relating” and “repeating” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #5,076
- “relating” frequency rank
- #9,088
- “repeating” frequency rank
- 14164
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | relating | repeating |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of relate | present participle and gerund of repeat |
Where the eye mixes relating and repeating
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: relating vs repeating
A purely visual mix-up. relating (/ɹɪˈleɪtɪŋ/) and repeating (/ɹɪˈpiːtɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 14164, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
relating is recorded at frequency rank #5,076, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈleɪtɪŋ/. repeating is at rank #9,088, tagged as averb, pronounced /ɹɪˈpiːtɪŋ/.
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 14164, this pair ranks #471,681 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of relating vs repeating
Shared letters: aeginrt. Private to "relating": l. Private to "repeating": p.
"relating" · 8 letters · shape CVCVCVCC · "repeating" · 9 letters · shape CVCVVCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "relating" for "repeating" ever safe?
Frequency check: "relating" vs "repeating" - 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 "relating" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "repeating" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #471,681 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "relating" and "repeating" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "relating vs retaking". 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 #471,681 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.