Hopping or Hoping – What’s the Difference?

Typos are embarrassing. Every writer makes mistakes, and we have all felt the corrective sting of being called onto the carpet for a poor word choice or spelling errors.

The verbs hopping and hoping are spelled very similarly, which means a simple mistake can completely change the meaning of your sentence, with potentially embarrassing results. The phrases “hoping for change” and “hopping for change,” for instance, conjure wildly different mental images.

Continue reading to learn the meanings of these two words, and to find out when you should choose hoping or hopping.

What is the Difference Between Hopping and Hoping?

In this article, I will compare hopping vs. hoping. I will use each of these verbs in example sentences, so that you can become familiar with the proper context for each.

I will also show you a useful mnemonic that will help you remember whether hopping or hoping is more appropriate for your writing.

When to Use Hopping

What does hopping mean? Hopping is a present tense verb. Hopping means bouncing lightly or jumping from place to place.

Here are some examples,

• I could tell the pastor had to go to the bathroom because he was hopping up and down on one foot during the sermon.
• Frank’s pet rabbit spent its time hopping around the backyard and eating clover.
• The bandit escaped her pursuers by hopping from rock to rock across the river.
• When logistics made the island-hopping idea impossible, however, Neistat said the team settled on a holiday-themed stunt. –The Washington Post

When to Use Hoping

What does hoping mean? Hoping is also a present tense verb. To hope is to anticipate positive events in the future.

Here are some examples of the word hoping in sentences,

• “But Uncle Owen, I was hoping to head down to Tosche station to pick up some power converters!”
• Hoping for change is ineffective without working toward change.
• Judging by the look on Kira’s face in these pictures, she had clearly been hoping to attend the dance with Ben instead of Matthew.
• Food companies sometimes sell a limited-edition product hoping it is a gateway to a brand’s broader offerings. –The Wall Street Journal

Trick to Remember the Difference

Here is a helpful trick to remember hoping vs. hopping.

Since hoping and hopping are each present tense verbs, it can be tricky to decide when to choose which word. You should use hoping when someone has a positive outlook on future events. If someone is bouncing or jumping around, hopping is likely the better choice.

If you find yourself in need of a memory tool to help you separate these words in your mind, remember that hopping is something that bunnies do, and the words hopping and bunny each contain a double consonant.

Summary

Is it hopping or hoping? Hopping and hoping are both verbs. If one is hopping, one is jumping or bouncing lightly. When one is hoping, one is anticipating positive outcomes for the future.

• When you are hopping, you are bouncing like a bunny.
• When you are hoping, you are looking forward to positive outcomes in the future.

Since the spellings of hopping and hoping are so similar, it is easy to confuse these two words.

Luckily, by remembering that both hopping and bunny have double consonants, you will always find it easy to choose the correct word when writing about someone who is optimistic or someone who ambulates like a small woodland creature.

If you have any other questions about language or word choice, you can reference this site to access a valuable compendium of knowledge on a variety of writing topics.