whispering

/ˈ(h)wɪspəɹɪŋ/

//ˈ(h)wɪspəɹɪŋ// verb

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

"whispering" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“whispering” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #17,058. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#17,058
frequency rank, English
1,759
“W” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

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

Corpus desk

Index EN-whispering · whispering · English

whispering · rank #17,058 · 16 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #17,058
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,759
  • PHOTO-FINISH weeping

Nearest frequency peer: weeping (-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 “whispering”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “whispering” 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).

whispering vs whimpering
90% similar

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

Key facts for whispering
PropertyValue
Headwordwhispering
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈ(h)wɪspəɹɪŋ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#17,058
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “whispering”

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).whisperinglands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “weeping” (#17,057), “windshield” (#17,059), “WC” (#17,056). Among 1,759 “W” headwords, “whispering” is #17,058. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around whispering (IPA /ˈ(h)wɪspəɹɪŋ/), averb. Corpus frequency is #17,058 among 1,759 “W” headwords. Dominant gloss: "present participle and gerund of whisper".

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for whispering, with forms such as "hwispering", "whhispering", and "whipsering". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "whimpering", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling is easiest explained by how it's pronounced rather than where it came from. The correct English form is whispering, spelled W-H-I-S-P-E-R-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of whisper

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hwispering
  • whhispering
  • whipsering
  • whisepring
  • whispeirng
  • whisperign
  • whisperingg
  • whisperinng
  • whispernig
  • whisperring
  • whisppering
  • whispreing
  • whisspering
  • whsipering
  • wihspering
  • wwhispering

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

hwispering2whhispering1whipsering2whisepring2whispeirng2whisperign2whisperingg1whisperinng1
Edit distance from "whispering"

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 "whispering"?
"whispering" is spelled W-H-I-S-P-E-R-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈ(h)wɪspəɹɪŋ/.
What does "whispering" mean?
As a verb, "whispering" means: present participle and gerund of whisper
What words are commonly confused with "whispering"?
"whispering" is commonly confused with "whimpering". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "whispering"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "whispering" is /ˈ(h)wɪspəɹɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "whispering" come from?
"whispering" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 "whispering", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

windshield#17,059arithmetic#17,075persuasive#16,992ordination#16,985

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

familiarity16 variantsmorphology16 variantsmindfulness16 variantsirrespective16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list