Dieing vs. Dying

Because the English language has so many irregular words, it is sometimes hard to know if we are using the correct spellings-even of common words. Let's take a close look at the participial form of die and determine how to spell it depending on the meaning of the word.

Dying is how we spell the participial form of die when we are referring to death.

1. I think my plant is dying because I haven't watered it in a week.

2. Jeffrey says that he is dying of thirst, but I think he just means that he is really thirsty.

3. I am just dying to know the secret about Jessica's birthday party!

Dieing is a misspelling if you are referring to death. The past participial form of die (death) is irregular, so you use dying. However, there is a specialized instance when you might use dieing and it be correct. There is a machine called a die-cut machine that cuts out shapes, letters, and numbers from paper. If you are referring to this machine and cutting out shapes, then you might have an occasion to use dieing.

Some people also confusing the word dyeing with dying and dieing as well. Dyeing refers to the act of staining something a different color.

1. I am dyeing my hair red this week.

2. My mom is in the process of dyeing the eggs for the Easter egg hunt.

While all of these forms can be overwhelming, you typically will not have occasion to use dieing at all, and dyeing should make sense because dye is the word for staining. So, when in doubt, the participial form of die is always dying.