Which to use
“teeming” and “telling” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #31,375
- “teeming” frequency rank
- #1,288
- “telling” frequency rank
- 32663
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | teeming | telling |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | present participle and gerund of teem | present participle and gerund of tell |
Where the eye mixes teeming and telling
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 5 letters in sequence.
Visual trap between teeming and telling
A purely visual mix-up. teeming (/ˈtiːmɪŋ/) and telling (/ˈtɛlɪŋ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 32663, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
teeming is recorded at frequency rank #31,375, classified as averb, pronounced /ˈtiːmɪŋ/. telling is at rank #1,288, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈtɛlɪŋ/.
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 32663, this pair ranks #335,964 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of teeming vs telling
Shared letters: egint. Private to "teeming": m. Private to "telling": l.
"teeming" · 7 letters · shape CVVCVCC · "telling" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "teeming" and "telling" be used interchangeably?
Frequency check: "teeming" vs "telling" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "teeming" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "telling" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #335,964 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "teeming" and "telling" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "teeming vs teething". 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 #335,964 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.