filing
/ˈfaɪ.lɪŋ/
"filing" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“filing” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #6,572 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #6,572
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any particle that has been removed by a file or similar implement; a shaving.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | filing |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈfaɪ.lɪŋ/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #6,572 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “filing” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for filing is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈfaɪ.lɪŋ/. Corpus data places it at rank #6,572 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for filing, with forms such as "ffiling", "fiilng", and "filign". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "flint", "fling", "flung", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is filing, spelled F-I-L-I-N-G.
Definition
- 1Any particle that has been removed by a file or similar implement; a shaving.
- 2The act of storing documents in an archive; archiving.
- 3Something that has been officially filed; a document on file.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ffiling,fiilng,filign,filingg,filinng,filnig,fliing,ifling
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of filing - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “filing”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is F-I-L-I-N-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈfaɪ.lɪŋ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “flint” - see the side-by-side comparison. filing vs flint
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.