speaking

/ˈspiː.kɪŋ/

//ˈspiː.kɪŋ// adj

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

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

The verdict

“speaking” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,320. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,320
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used in speaking.

Corpus desk

Index EN-speaking · speaking · English

speaking · rank #1,320 · 12 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,320
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH skin

Nearest frequency peer: skin (-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 “speaking”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “speaking” 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).

speaking vs spewing
75% similar
speaking vs staking
75% similar
speaking vs spiking
75% similar

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

Key facts for speaking
PropertyValue
Headwordspeaking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈspiː.kɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,320
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “speaking”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).speakinglands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “skin” (#1,319), “supposed” (#1,321), “rich” (#1,318). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “speaking” is #1,320. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around speaking (IPA /ˈspiː.kɪŋ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,320 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for speaking, with forms such as "pseaking", "sepaking", and "spaeking". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "spewing", "staking", "spiking", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English spekinge, spekynge, spekinde, spekende, spekande, spekand, from Old English specende, sprecende (“speaking”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekandz (“speaking”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *sprekaną (“to speak”). Equivalent to speak +… The correct English form is speaking, spelled S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Used in speaking.
  2. 2
    Expressive; eloquent.
  3. 3
    Involving speaking.
  4. 4
    Having the ability of speech.
  5. 5
    Having the ability of speech.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how speaking appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. one's normal speaking voice
  2. The sight was more speaking than any speech could be.

Etymology

From Middle English spekinge, spekynge, spekinde, spekende, spekande, spekand, from Old English specende, sprecende (“speaking”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekandz (“speaking”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *sprekaną (“to speak”). Equivalent to speak + -ing. Cognate with Scots speikand, speikin (“speaking”), Saterland Frisian spreekend (“speaking”), West Frisian sprekkend (“speaking”), Dutch sprekend (“speaking”), German Low German sprekend (“speaking”), German sprechend (“speaking”).

Antonyms

unspeakingnonspeaking

This word in other languages

Sprech-(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pseaking
  • sepaking
  • spaeking
  • speaikng
  • speakign
  • speakingg
  • speakinng
  • speakking
  • speaknig
  • spekaing
  • sppeaking
  • sspeaking

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of speaking - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

pseaking2sepaking2spaeking2speaikng2speakign2speakingg1speakinng1speakking1
Edit distance from "speaking"

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 "speaking"?
"speaking" is spelled S-P-E-A-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspiː.kɪŋ/.
What does "speaking" mean?
As an adjective, "speaking" means: Used in speaking.
What words are commonly confused with "speaking"?
"speaking" is commonly confused with "spewing", "staking", "spiking". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "speaking"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "speaking" is /ˈspiː.kɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "speaking"?
From Middle English spekinge, spekynge, spekinde, spekende, spekande, spekand, from Old English specende, sprecende (“speaking”), from Proto-Germanic *sprekandz (“speaking”), present participle of Proto-Germanic *sprekaną (“to speak”). Equivalent ... 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 "speaking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

supposed#1,321marriage#1,313congress#1,328directly#1,330

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

necessary12 variantsliterally12 variantscommission12 variantsanalysis12 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list