Which to use
“spring” and “spying” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #1,286
- “spring” frequency rank
- #12,145
- “spying” frequency rank
- 13431
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | spring | spying |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To move or burst forth. | present participle and gerund of spy |
Where the eye mixes spring and spying
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: spring vs spying
A purely visual mix-up. spring (/ˈspɹɪŋ/) and spying (/ˈspaɪ.ɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - r in “spring” becomes y in “spying”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 13431, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
spring is recorded at frequency rank #1,286, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈspɹɪŋ/. spying is at rank #12,145, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈspaɪ.ɪŋ/.
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 13431, this pair ranks #475,852 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of spring vs spying
Shared letters: ginps. Private to "spring": r. Private to "spying": y.
"spring" · 6 letters · shape CCCVCC · "spying" · 6 letters · shape CCVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "spring" and "spying" mean the same thing in a sentence?
Which is more common, "spring" or "spying"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "spring" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "spying" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #475,852 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "spring" and "spying" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "spiny vs spying". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #475,852 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.