Which to use
“willing” is an adjective and “winging” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,976
- “willing” frequency rank
- #47,424
- “winging” frequency rank
- 49400
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | willing | winging |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Ready to do something, particularly something that requires change or effort; not objecting. | present participle and gerund of wing |
Where the spellings diverge
Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set willing and winging apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: willing is /ˈwɪlɪŋ/ while winging is /ˈwɪŋɪŋ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs verb), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 49400, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
willing is recorded at frequency rank #1,976, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈwɪlɪŋ/. winging is at rank #47,424, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈwɪŋɪŋ/.
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 49400, this pair ranks #183,983 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of willing vs winging
Shared letters: ginw. Private to "willing": l. Private to "winging": -.
"willing" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC · "winging" · 7 letters · shape CVCCVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequency comparison
Frequently Asked Questions
Can "willing" and "winging" be used interchangeably?
Which is more common, "willing" or "winging"?
Remembering willing vs winging
The fastest way to pick the right one every time.
- Check the role first: if you need an adjective, it's “willing”; for a verb, it's “winging”.
- See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “willing” entry
- Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable