sitingvssowingWhat's the difference?

Which to use

“siting” and “sowing” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#42,898
“siting” frequency rank
#29,099
“sowing” frequency rank
71997
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature siting sowing
Definition present participle and gerund of site present participle and gerund of sow

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set siting and sowing apart are highlighted. They share 4 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

6 ch
siting
6 ch
sowing

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

A purely visual mix-up. siting (/ˈsaɪtɪŋ/) and sowing (/ˈsəʊɪŋ/) 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 71997, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

siting is recorded at frequency rank #42,898, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈsaɪtɪŋ/. sowing is at rank #29,099, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈsəʊɪŋ/.

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 71997, this pair ranks #44,607 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of siting vs sowing

Shared letters: gins. Private to "siting": t. Private to "sowing": ow.

"siting" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC  ·  "sowing" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sitingisting · siitng · sitign · sitingg · sitinng · sitnig · ssiting · stiing
  • sowingoswing · soiwng · sowign · sowingg · sowinng · sownig · sowwing · ssowing

Frequency comparison

siting#42,898
sowing#29,099

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "siting" and "sowing" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ˈsaɪtɪŋ/ versus /ˈsəʊɪŋ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "siting" or "sowing"?
"sowing" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #29,099 in our English list, against #42,898 for "siting". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering siting vs sowing

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Read both glosses above and match the meaning you intend, only context separates this pair.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “siting” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list