# speaking vs spreading

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### speaking
*adjective · IPA /ˈspiː.kɪŋ/ · frequency rank #1,320*
Used in speaking.

### spreading
*verb · IPA /ˈspɹɛdɪŋ/ · frequency rank #5,269*
present participle and gerund of spread

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