slogvsslungWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: slog is a noun, slung is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“slog” is a noun and “slung” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#34,288
“slog” frequency rank
#35,082
“slung” frequency rank
69370
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature slog slung
Definition A long, tedious walk or march. simple past and past participle of sling

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set slog and slung apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

4 ch
slog
5 ch
slung

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: slog is /slɒɡ/ while slung is /ˈslʌŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (noun vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 69370, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

slog is recorded at frequency rank #34,288, classified as anoun, pronounced /slɒɡ/. slung is at rank #35,082, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈslʌŋ/.

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 69370, this pair ranks #54,875 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of slog vs slung

Shared letters: gls. Private to "slog": o. Private to "slung": nu.

"slog" · 4 letters · shape CCVC  ·  "slung" · 5 letters · shape CCVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • sloglsog · slgo · sllog · slogg · solg · sslog
  • slunglsung · sllung · slnug · slugn · slungg · slunng · sslung · sulng

Frequency comparison

slog#34,288
slung#35,082

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "slog" and "slung" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "slog" is a noun and "slung" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "slog" or "slung"?
"slog" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #34,288 in our English list, against #35,082 for "slung". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering slog vs slung

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “slog”; for a verb, it's “slung”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “slog” 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