# smacking vs spanking

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### smacking
*noun · frequency rank #28,371*
A series of smacks; the act by which somebody is smacked.

### spanking
*verb · IPA /ˈspæŋkɪŋ/ · frequency rank #20,229*
present participle of spank

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/smacking-vs-spanking