# sparring vs staring

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### sparring
*verb · IPA /ˈspɑːɹɪŋ/ · frequency rank #25,215*
present participle and gerund of spar

### staring
*verb · IPA /ˈstɛəɹɪŋ/ · frequency rank #5,734*
present participle and gerund of stare

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