# sparking vs starting

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sparking
*noun · frequency rank #26,259*
The act of producing a spark.

### starting
*verb · IPA /ˈstɑɹtɪŋ/ · frequency rank #915*
present participle and gerund of start

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