paddling

verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"paddling" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“paddling” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #31,689. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#31,689
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - present participle and gerund of paddle

Corpus desk

Index EN-paddling · paddling · English

paddling · rank #31,689 · 11 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #31,689
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH overstated

Nearest frequency peer: overstated (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “paddling”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “paddling” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

paddling vs pudding
75% similar
paddling vs peddling
88% similar
paddling vs paneling
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for paddling
PropertyValue
Headwordpaddling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
Letters8
Frequency rank#31,689
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “paddling”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).paddlinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “overstated” (#31,688), “painstaking” (#31,690), “overseer” (#31,687). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “paddling” is #31,689. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around paddling, averb. Corpus frequency is #31,689 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of paddle".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for paddling, with forms such as "apddling", "paddilng", and "paddlign". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "pudding", "peddling", "paneling", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From paddle + -ing. The correct English form is paddling, spelled P-A-D-D-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of paddle

Etymology

From paddle + -ing.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • apddling
  • paddilng
  • paddlign
  • paddlingg
  • paddlinng
  • paddlling
  • paddlnig
  • padlding
  • padling
  • pdadling
  • ppaddling

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of paddling - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

apddling2paddilng2paddlign2paddlingg1paddlinng1paddlling1paddlnig2padlding2
Edit distance from "paddling"

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

How do you spell "paddling"?
"paddling" is spelled P-A-D-D-L-I-N-G.
What does "paddling" mean?
As a verb, "paddling" means: present participle and gerund of paddle
What words are commonly confused with "paddling"?
"paddling" is commonly confused with "pudding", "peddling", "paneling". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
What is the origin of the word "paddling"?
From paddle + -ing. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "paddling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

overseer#31,687operatic#31,680nepotism#31,674Richland#31,735

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Pinocchio11 variantsMacaulay11 variantsSardinia11 variantsKipling11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list