talking

/ˈtɔːkɪŋ/

//ˈtɔːkɪŋ// noun

"talking" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“talking” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #520. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#520
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The action of the verb talk.

Corpus desk

Index EN-talking · talking · English

talking · rank #520 · 11 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #520
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH six

Nearest frequency peer: six (-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 “talking”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “talking” 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).

talking vs taxing
71% similar
talking vs taping
71% similar
talking vs tiling
71% similar

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

Key facts for talking
PropertyValue
Headwordtalking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɔːkɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#520
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “talking”

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).talkinglands 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 “six” (#519), “west” (#521), “quite” (#518). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “talking” is #520. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around talking (IPA /ˈtɔːkɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #520 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Dominant gloss: "The action of the verb talk.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for talking, with forms such as "atlking", "takling", and "talikng". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "taxing", "taping", "tiling", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English talkynge. By surface analysis, talk + -ing. The correct English form is talking, spelled T-A-L-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    The action of the verb talk.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant.
  2. 1864–65, Anthony Trollope, Can You Forgive Her? He did not himself care for the loose little talkings, half flat and half sharp, of men when they meet together in idleness.

Etymology

From Middle English talkynge. By surface analysis, talk + -ing.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • atlking
  • takling
  • talikng
  • talkign
  • talkingg
  • talkinng
  • talkking
  • talknig
  • tallking
  • tlaking
  • ttalking

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of talking - 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.

atlking2takling2talikng2talkign2talkingg1talkinng1talkking1talknig2
Edit distance from "talking"

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 "talking"?
"talking" is spelled T-A-L-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɔːkɪŋ/.
What does "talking" mean?
As a noun, "talking" means: The action of the verb talk.
What words are commonly confused with "talking"?
"talking" is commonly confused with "taxing", "taping", "tiling". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "talking"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "talking" is /ˈtɔːkɪŋ/. 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 "talking"?
From Middle English talkynge. By surface analysis, talk + -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 "talking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

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

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list