Which to use
“run” is a verb and “rung” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #309
- “run” frequency rank
- #22,497
- “rung” frequency rank
- 22806
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | run | rung |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To move swiftly. | A crosspiece forming a step of a ladder; a round. |
Where the eye mixes run and rung
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: run vs rung
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: run is /ɹʌn/ while rung is /ɹʌŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 extra letter(s) - “run” sits inside “rung”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 22806, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
run is recorded at frequency rank #309, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹʌn/. rung is at rank #22,497, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹʌŋ/.
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 22806, this pair ranks #413,875 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of run vs rung
Shared letters: nru. Private to "run": -. Private to "rung": g.
"run" · 3 letters · shape CVC · "rung" · 4 letters · shape CVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
- rung ← rnug · rrung · rugn · rungg · runng · urng
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "run" for "rung" ever safe?
Frequency check: "run" vs "rung" - which ranks higher?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "run" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "rung" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #413,875 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "run" and "rung" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rua vs rung". 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 #413,875 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.