English spelling mistakes happen because of the nuances of the English language, and this guide will help you identify and avoid them.
Spelling is necessary to proper English writing. Good writers generally assume they are also good spellers until they start digging into common English spelling mistakes. The English language has grown and developed over time, and as it has some spellings have changed.
Not only that, but English spelling is different in Australian English, British English, and American English. No wonder there is so much confusion among English writers! We did some research to determine what are the most common spelling mistakes in the English language, so you can avoid making them in your own writing.
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Contents
- English Spelling Mistakes — The Research
- Why English is So Hard to Spell
- Most Common Mispellings In The English Language
- Differences Between English and American Spelling
- Other Tricky English Words
- How to Avoid Common Misspellings
- A Final Word On English Spelling Mistakes
- FAQs About English Spelling Mistakes
- Author
English Spelling Mistakes — The Research
We performed some research about English words that people regularly misspell. Interestingly, the most commonly misspelled words are different based on where the English speaker lives. Some facts that we found include:
- Favourite/Favorite is the most difficult word to spell across the English-speaking world.
- Definitely and diarrhoea/diarrhea are runners-up.
- In New Zealand, one of the most Googled spelling searches is “How to spell Australia.”
- Potato is the top word that the Irish have trouble spelling.
- Everyone is confused about spelling auntie/aunty. Interestingly, both are correct spellings.
Some things that trip up native speakers when spelling English words include:
- Double letters, especially double consonants
- Different spellings for English/British/Australian spellings
- Homophones,
- Words with pronunciation different from the spelling
Why English is So Hard to Spell
Across the globe, English remains one of the more challenging languages to learn that is rife with misspellings. Because English-speaking countries have had a global influence for centuries, it has become a “vampire” language, which means it absorbs words from other languages.
In the English vocabulary, you will find words that come from German, Latin, Greek, French, and even Spanish root words. Because these languages do not have the same spelling rules as English, the spelling changes.
In addition, American English and British English are not the same. Where “favorite” is correct in America, the word is “favourite” in England. Thus, a discussion of English spelling mistakes needs to have a breakdown between different countries.
Most Common Mispellings In The English Language
Because English is the language of several different countries, breaking down common misspellings is more challenging. However, across the English-speaking world, there are certain words that regularly come up in searches for how to spell. These include:
- Gray/grey
- Cancelled/canceled
- Beautiful
- Diarrhea/diarrhoea
- Favorite/favourite
- Auntie/aunty
- Travelling/traveling
- Michael
- Honor/Honour
- Counselor/Counsellor
- Definitely
Differences Between English and American Spelling
One of the reasons English can be difficult to spell is because American and British English spell words differently. For instance, American words that end in “or” typically end in “our” in British English, such as labour and labor. Some other common differences include:
- The suffix -ize in American English is -ise in British (Apologize/apologise)
- The ending “yze” in American English is “yse” in British (Analyze/analyse)
- A double letter “l” in verbs ending in a vowel in British English, but not in American (Travelled/traveled)
- Words spelled with an “e” in American English may have an “ae” or “oe” spelling in British English (manoeuvre/maneuver)
- Some words ending in “ense” or “anse” in American English end in “ence” or “ance” in British (defense/defence)
Common Spelling Mistakes in the United Kingdom
Writers in the United Kingdom struggle to spell many words, but interestingly they are words that have their roots in the American English language. These words are:
- Diarrhoea: Diarrhea in America
- Favourite: Favorite in America
- Definitely: Sometimes spelled defenetly, definately or definitely
- Behaviour: Behavior in America
- Honour: Honor in America
- Assess: Sometimes misspelled asess or asses
- Counsellor: Counselor in America
- Auntie: Can also be Aunty
- Travelling: Traveling in America
Common Spelling Mistakes in the United States
Interestingly, it is the difference between American and British spelling that trips up American writers as well. These words are the most commonly searched for their spelling in the U.S.:
- Gray: Grey in England
- Canceled: Cancelled in England
- Beautiful: All those vowels confuse writers
- Hors d’oeuvres: French word is confusing to English writers
- Favorite: Favourite in England
- Resume: Often confused because of two words with different pronunciations but the same spelling
- Tomorrow: Often incorrectly spelled tommorrow
- Forty: Fourty was once correct, but rarely used now
- Bougie: Slang word that is difficult for many to spell
- Definitely: Trips up Americans just like English writers
Common Spelling Mistakes in Canada
Canada is also among the English-speaking countries, and they have slightly different spellings than America. Canadian English tends to follow British spelling rules. Some words that are commonly confused as a result are:
- Neighbour: Neighbor in America
- License: Only the verb form in Canada, the noun is licence
- Lose: Often confused with loose, which is a different word
- Dessert: Often confused with desert, which is a different word
- Definitely: Sometimes spelled defenetly, definately or definitely
- Niece: Common misspelling is neice
- Received: Common misspelling is recieved
- Receipt: Common misspelling is reciept
- Beautiful: Vowels confuse writers
- Counsellor: Counselor in America
Commonly Spelling Mistakes in Australia
In Australia, the double consonants that are common in British spelling, but not in American spelling, trip up writers quite often, as does the “o” vs “ou” spelling differences. Similarly, the suffix -ise is used in Australia, but -ize is the American spelling. Some of the most often misspelled words in Australia include:
- Jewellery: Jewelry in America
- Colour: Color in America
- Definitely: Sometimes spelled defenetly, definately or definitely
- Neighbour: Neighbor in America
- Diarrhoea: Diarrhea in America
- Aunt: The root word between the aunty/auntie debate
- Dessert: Often confused with desert
- Apologise: Apologize in America
- Gorgeous: The three vowels at the end confuse writers
Common Spelling Mistakes in New Zealand
New Zealand has quite a bit in common with Australia and Britain. Its commonly misspelled words include:
- Colour: Color in America
- Aunty: Auntie is also correct
- Favourite: Favorite in America
- Diarrhoea: Diarrhea in America
- Neighbour: Neighbor in America
- Definitely: Sometimes spelled defenetly, definately or definitely
- Gorgeous: The three vowels at the end remain confusing
- Australia: The neighboring country confuses New Zealanders
- Believe: Often misspelled beleive
- Vacuum: Sometimes misspelled vaccum or vaccuum
Common Spelling Mistakes in Ireland
In Ireland, some words are common with other countries, but it has some unique words on its common misspelling lists. Here are the most commonly searched spelling terms in Ireland:
- Potato: May be misspelled potatoe
- Gorgeous: Common challenging word because of the vowels
- Programme: Program in America
- Madam: Sometimes spelled madame
- Throat: Sometimes misspelled throte
- Definitely: Difficult for most English speaking countires
- Anniversary: Often mistaken for aniversary
- Colour: Color in America
- Sympathy: The “y” at the beginning of the word confuses some Irish writers
Other Tricky English Words
While these words are unique to different countries, there are some English words that are universally difficult to spell beyond these. They include:
- Absence: Misspelled as abcense, absance, and absense
- Acceptable: Misspelled acceptible
- Accommodate: Misspelled as acommodate or accomodate
- Acknowledge: Misspelled as acknowelge or aknowledge
- Acquaintance: Misspelled acquaintence or aquaintance
- A lot: Misspelled as one word, alot
- Awful: Misspelled awfull or aweful
- Because: Misspelled becuase
- Beginning: Misspelled begining
- Bureaucracy: Misspelled bureacrucy
- Business: Misspelled buisness
- Calendar: Misspelled calender
- Colleague: Misspelled collaegue or collegue
- Concede: Misspelled conceed
- Conscience: Misspelled concious or consious
- Consensus: Misspelled concensus
- Embarrass: Misspelled embarass
- Entrepreneur: Misspelled entreprenure
- Fascinating: Misspelled facinating
- Foreign: Misspelled foriegn
- Government: Misspelled goverment
- Guarantee: Misspelled garantee, garentee or garanty
- Hygiene: Misspelled hygene, hygiene or higeine
- Immediately: Misspelled imediately
- Independent: Misspelled independant
- Intelligence: Misspelled inteligence or intelligance
- Judgment: Misspelled judgement
- Kernel: Misspelled kernal or mistaken for homophone colonel
- Leisure: Misspelled liesure
- Liaison: Misspelled liason
- Lightning: Misspelled lightening
- Liquefy: Misspelled liquafy or liquify
- Memento: Misspelled momento
- Miniature: Misspelled miniture
- Minuscule: misspelled miniscule
- Mischievous: Misspelled mischievious, mischievous or mischevious
- Misspell: Misspelled mispell or misspel
- Necessary: Misspelled neccessary or necessery
- Noticeable: Misspelled noticable
- Occasion: Misspelled occassion
- Occurrence: Misspelled occurrance or occurence
- Outrageous: Misspelled outragous
- Particularly: Misspelled particulary
- Pastime: Misspelled passtime or pasttime
- Plagiarize: Misspelled plagerize
- Possession: Misspelled posession or possesion
- Precede: Misspelled preceed
- Presence: Misspelled presance
- Privilege: Misspelled privelege or priviledge
- Pronunciation: Misspelled pronounciation
- Publicly: Misspelled publically
- Queue: Misspelled que
- Questionnaire: Misspelled questionaire or questionnair
- Really: Misspelled realy
- Recommend: Misspelled recomend or reccommend
- Religious: Misspelled religous or religius
- Separate: Misspelled seperate
- Sergeant: Misspelled sargent
- Successful: Misspelled succesful, successfull or sucessful
- Supersede: Misspelled supercede
- Tomorrow: Misspelled tommorow or tommorrow
- Twelfth: Misspelled twelth
- Tyranny: Misspelled tyrany
- Underrate: Misspelled underate
- Unnecessary: Misspelled unecessary or unneccessary
- Upholstery: Misspelled upholstry
- Vacuum: Misspelled vaccuum, vaccum or vacume
- Withhold: Misspelled withold
How to Avoid Common Misspellings
English spelling mistakes are common, but if you are going to be a skilled writer you need to learn to avoid spelling errors. First, study this list of common mistakes. If you are guilty of any of them, take the time to learn the correct spellings.
Next, make sure you are using grammar and spell check software every time you write. Whether you are an ESL student trying to learn English or a native speaker, you are going to make mistakes. A spellchecker and grammar checker like Grammarly will help you catch those mistakes.
When using a spellchecker, make sure to set it to the appropriate style of English. this will ensure you are getting the English or British spelling correct.
A Final Word On English Spelling Mistakes
The English language is challenging because many words come from different languages, so many words are not spelled the way they sound. In addition, English spellings vary based on the part of the world where the writer is from. This can make the language a huge challenge to learn.
To make yourself a skilled English speller, take some time to study these common misspellings. Avoid them in your writing, and use grammar and spelling checkers to look for typos and other problems. Soon you will be able to create writing that is free from English spelling mistakes.
FAQs About English Spelling Mistakes
How Can I Improve My English Spelling Mistakes?
The best way to avoid spelling mistakes is to use a spellchecker every time you write. Also, take the time to memorize the common spelling mistakes that you make in your writing.
What are the most common spelling mistakes in English?
Some of the most common mistakes in English spelling include:
1. Separate
2. Definitely
3. Embarrass
4. Occurrence
5. Consensus
6. Unnecessary
7. Acceptable
8. Bureaucracy
9. Supersede
10. Questionnaire
11. A lot
12. Entrepreneur
13. Particularly
14. Liquefy
15. Conscience
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Table of Contents
- What is a synonym for misspell?
- What is a antonym for misspell?
- What is another word for typo?
- Whats the definition of misspell?
- What does typo mean in slang?
- What is the prefix of misspell?
- What is the suffix of misspell?
- Can you spell the most commonly misspelled words?
- What does misspell mean?
- What is another word for misspell?
- What is another word for spell?
How does the noun mistake differ from other similar words? Some common synonyms of mistake are blunder, error, lapse, and slip.
What is a synonym for misspell?
▲ Present participle for to spell incorrectly. misprinting. vitiating.
What is a antonym for misspell?
verb. ( mɪsˈspɛl, mɪˈspɛl) Spell incorrectly. Antonyms. unspell generalize. spell.
typographical error
- clerical error.
- erratum.
- misprint.
- mistake in typing.
- printer’s error.
- typing mistake.
- typist’s error.
- typo.
Whats the definition of misspell?
transitive verb. : to spell incorrectly The name of the town was misspelled on the map.
What does typo mean in slang?
TYPO means “Typing mistake.”
What is the prefix of misspell?
Mis-
Mis- is a prefix that means “wrong” or “mistaken.” When you add it to the verb spell, it means to spell incorrectly. The correct spelling is misspell. Be careful not to omit the second S in derivative forms, such as misspelling and misspells.
What is the suffix of misspell?
dis + satisfied = dissatisfied. mis. wrongly. mis + spell = misspell.
Can you spell the most commonly misspelled words?
Another one of the most common misspellings across the nation is the word “pneumonia,” which is understandable. Some words seem easier to spell than others, though. “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” was the most commonly misspelled in West Virginia and Connecticut, which was easily the longest word on the list.
What does misspell mean?
Misspell is defined as to write a word with incorrect letters or an incorrect arrangement of letters.
What is another word for misspell?
other words for misspell. misprint. vitiate. TRY misspell IN A SENTENCE BELOW. MOST RELEVANT. Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
What is another word for spell?
Another word for spell. Noun. charm, magic spell, magical spell, spell – a verbal formula believed to have magical force. Example:- he whispered a spell as he moved his hands. go, spell, tour, turn – a time for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else)
Викторина
по английскому языку среди первых курсов.
1
конкурс
:
“Mistakes” – find a
spelling mistake in one word of each sentence. (max. 10 points)
·
I have brekfast at eight.
·
Her mather and father are teachers.
·
She is a doktor.
·
Five plus seven is tvelve.
·
My cet is fat and fanny.
·
The boy likes to sleep in a big ded.
·
His sun is good at Sport.
·
I like to drink koffee.
·
March, Aprel and May are spring
months.
·
Nick’s eyes are broun.
Key: 1. breakfast 2. mother 3.
doctor 4. twelve 5. funny 6. bed 7. son 8. coffee 9. April 10.brown
2 конкурс:
“Countries” – match the
country with its capital: (max. 25 points)
Russia, the UK, the USA,
Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Brazil, Japan, Ukraine.
Tokyo, Kiev, Rome, London,
Moscow, Washington, Berlin, Paris, Brasilia, Madrid.
Key: Russia – Moscow, the UK –
London, the USA – Washington, Germany – Berlin, Italy – Rome, Spain – Madrid,
France – Paris, Brazil – Brasilia, Japan – Tokyo, Ukraine – Kiev.
3
конкурс:
“5
Themes” – name 10 words on the following themes: (max. 50 points)
“Family”,
“Food”, “Sport”, “School”, “Animals”
Студенты
должны по жребию выбрать тему и назвать 10 существительных по этой теме за 1
минуту. За каждое правильно названное слово – 1 балл. Если дети за отведённое
время не могут назвать 10 слов, считается то количество слов, которое они
вспомнили. Темы: “Семья”, “Еда”, “Спорт”, “Образование”, “Животные”.
Максимальное количество баллов – 50.
4
конкурс:
Topics:
1. London
2. The UK
3. Riddles
4. The Idioms
5. Holidays
6. Grammar and Tenses
London:
100 The name of the river in
London is … (the Thames)
200 What can you see in the
middle of Trafalgar Square ( The stature of Nelson)
300 When was the great fire of
London? ( in 1666)
400 Where are the tombs of many
kings and queens and other famous people? ( in Westminster
Abbey)
500 Where is memorial of Diana
Memorial Fountain? ( in Hyde park)
The UK
100 What is the official name
of the UK? (The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
200 What is the capital of
Northern Ireland? (Belfast)
300 The flag of the UK is known
as …. (the Union Jack)
400 What is Great Britain? ( an
island)
500 Who is the head of England? (queen)
Riddles
100 There are six of us in
every family, but only four in a town. What are we? (Letters)
200 I have cities but no
houses; forests but no trees, rivers but without water. What am I? (a map)
300 Which month has 28 days?
(They all have 28 days)
400 What has no head, no arms,
no legs, and still has a tongue? ( a shoe)
500 On what day of the year do
children talk the least? ( on the 22nd of December because it’s the
shortest day of the year)
The USA
100 The Native
Americans were… ( Indians)
200 America was
discovered by (Cristopher Columbus)
300 In which city and state is
Disney World located? (in Orland, Florida)
400 Which American state was
the last to acquire “state” status? (Hawaii)
500 What is the name of the
first U.S. national park and in which state is located? (Yellowstone ; in
Wyoming)
Holidays around the
world.
100 When is Christmas
celebrated in Russia? ( on the 7th of January)
200 What season is in Australia
when they celebrate Christmas? ( summer)
300 What holiday do English
people celebrate on the 5th of November? (Guy Fawkes Night)
400 The holiday in Russia when
people eat pan-cakes? (Maslenitsa)
500 What holiday is celebrated
in the USA on the fourth Thursday in November? (Thanksgiving day)
Tenses
100 My wife and I are happy
together: we are married since 1985. My wife and I are happy together: we have been
married since 1985.
200 We usually have had our lunch
before 2 p.m. We usually have our lunch before 2 p.m.
300 Он изучает древнюю
историю в колледже. He
studies history in college.
400 Рената носит
контактные линзы уже около 10 лет. Renata is
wearing contact lenses for about 10 years already.
500 Give the forms of 10 irregular
verbs.
Бланк
ответов группа
____________________________
1
конкурс
:
“Mistakes” – find a
spelling mistake in one word of each sentence. (max. 10 points)
·
I have brekfast at eight.
·
Her mather and father are teachers.
·
She is a doktor.
·
Five plus seven is tvelve.
·
My cet is fat and fanny.
·
The boy likes to sleep in a big ded.
·
His sun is good at Sport.
·
I like to drink koffee.
·
March, Aprel and May are spring
months.
·
Nick’s eyes are broun.
2 конкурс:
“Countries” – match the
country with its capital: (max. 25 points)
Russia, the UK, the USA,
Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Brazil, Japan, Ukraine.
Tokyo, Kiev, Rome, London,
Moscow, Washington, Berlin, Paris, Brasilia, Madrid.
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
|
АМ 19 |
||||
АМ 19п |
||||
ИС 19 |
||||
ИС 19п |
||||
ЖК 19 |
_____________________________
Spelling Mistakes! English spelling can be tricky, even for English speakers. In this lesson, you will learn a list of 70+ common spelling mistakes in English and how to correct them.
While some words admit multiple spellings, some are not considered standard, and thus are misspellings. A misspelled word can be a series of letters that represents no correctly spelled word of the same language at all or a correct spelling of another word. Misspellings of the latter type can easily make their way into printed material because they are not caught by simple computerized spell checkers.
Misspellings may be due to either typing errors, or lack of knowledge of the correct spelling. Whether or not a word is misspelled may depend on context, as is the case with American/ British English distinctions. Misspelling can also be a matter of opinion when variant spellings are accepted by some and not by others.
Incorrect: acommodation
Correct: accommodation
Incorrect: acheive
Correct: achieve
Incorrect: accross
Correct: across
Incorrect: adress
Correct: address
Incorrect: appearence
Correct: appearance
Incorrect: assasination
Correct: assassination
Incorrect: beggining
Correct: beginning
Incorrect: buisness
Correct: business
Incorrect: collegue
Correct: colleague
Incorrect: commitee
Correct: committee
Incorrect: concious
Correct: conscious
Incorrect: copywrite
Correct: copyright
Incorrect: dependance
Correct: dependence
Incorrect: desireable
Correct: desirable
Incorrect: embarass
Correct: embarrass
Incorrect: enviroment
Correct: environment
Incorrect: Febuary
Correct: February
Incorrect: fourty
Correct: forty
Incorrect: glamourous
Correct: glamorous
Incorrect: independance
Correct: independence
Incorrect: interupt
Correct: interrupt
Incorrect: intresting
Correct: interesting
Incorrect: knowlege
Correct: knowledge
Incorrect: libary
Correct: library
Incorrect: lightening
Correct: lightning
Incorrect: mischievious
Correct: mischievous
Incorrect: mispell
Correct: misspell
Incorrect: neccessary
Correct: necessary
Incorrect: neice
Correct: niece
Incorrect: calender
Correct: calendar
Incorrect: definately
Correct: definitely
Incorrect: tommorrow
Correct: tomorrow
Incorrect: noticable
Correct: noticeable
Incorrect: convinient
Correct: convenient
Incorrect: deterioreit
Correct: deteriorate
Incorrect: dissappear
Correct: disappear
Incorrect: arguement
Correct: argument
Incorrect: Wensday
Correct: Wednesday
Incorrect: ignor
Correct: ignore
Incorrect: occured
Correct: occurred
Incorrect: opertunity
Correct: opportunity
Incorrect: que
Correct: queue
Incorrect: speach
Correct: speech
Incorrect: thier
Correct: their
Incorrect: truely
Correct: truly
Incorrect: liesure
Correct: leisure
Incorrect: sieze
Correct: seize
Incorrect: wierd
Correct: weird
Incorrect: intresting
Correct: interesting
Incorrect: knowlege
Correct: knowledge
Incorrect: lollypop
Correct: lollipop
Incorrect: paralell
Correct: parallel
Incorrect: pasttime
Correct: pastime
Incorrect: persue
Correct: pursue
Incorrect: potatoe
Correct: potato
Incorrect: preceeding
Correct: preceding
Incorrect: pronounciation
Correct: pronunciation
Incorrect: recieve
Correct: receive
Incorrect: reccomend
Correct: recommend
Incorrect: rythm
Correct: rhythm
Incorrect: shedule
Correct: schedule
Incorrect: seige
Correct: siege
Incorrect: sentance
Correct: sentence
Incorrect: seperate
Correct: separate
Incorrect: sincerly
Correct: sincerely
Incorrect: tatoo
Correct: tattoo
Incorrect: tendancy
Correct: tendency
Incorrect: untill
Correct: until
Incorrect: vaccuum
Correct: vacuum
Incorrect: vegeterian
Correct: vegetarian
Incorrect: whereever
Correct: wherever
Incorrect: writen
Correct: written
Incorrect: finaly
Correct: finally
Incorrect: fluoroscent
Correct: fluorescent
Incorrect: goverment
Correct: government
Incorrect: grammer
Correct: grammar
Incorrect: happend
Correct: happened
Incorrect: dilemna
Correct: dilemma
Incorrect: existance
Correct: existence
Incorrect: familar
Correct: familiar
Incorrect: foriegn
Correct: foreign
Incorrect: futher
Correct: further
Common Spelling Mistakes | Images
Not everyone finds spelling easy. Children and adults, native and non-native speakers, and individuals with and without learning difficulties can all struggle with the irregularity of spelling in English.
That’s because more than one letter or letter combination can be used to represent a sound. An f is used in fire-truck but ph is used in phone. Similarly, the same letter(s) can represent different sounds. The pronunciation of c in face is soft but the c in car is hard. The initial sound in kick is k, but the same sound is spelled with a ck at the end of the word.
And while there are a number of rules and English spelling patterns, it isn’t always obvious how a word should be spelled if you’re hearing it for the first time. There are also many exceptions to the rules.
This is due to the way English evolved, and to the high number of loan words it contains. For example, bureau is a French word that contains a vowel string of three letters that stand for only one sound. Hypothesis is of Greek origin which is evident in the way it is made plural, hypotheses.
How easy is it to learn to spell?
The peculiarities of English spelling make it hard for young kids who are learning how to read and write, and mistakes are common from kindergarten through fourth, fifth, and even sixth grade. However, it’s also possible for spelling problems to persist into junior-high and high-school, and even adulthood.
Whether or not an individual is prone to making spelling mistakes can depend on a number of factors such as how often they read and write, any other languages they know, and the size of their spoken vocabulary in English. Additionally, some words are more commonly misspelled than others. But it is important to note that spelling difficulties are often seen when language-based learning difficulties are present.
What causes spelling problems?
Dyslexia
Dyslexia can affect how an individual breaks words down into their component sounds. Problems with short-term memory make the memorization of rules a challenge, and spelling may be inconsistent from one day to the next. Learn more about spelling strategies for individuals with dyslexia.
Dyspraxia
Motor skills difficulties, such as dyspraxia, can cause spelling problems because they make writing by hand physically painful, which distracts an individual from getting the spelling right. Dyspraxia can additionally cause problems with sequencing and letter order.
Dysgraphia
Dysgraphia is a learning difficulty that complicates writing and can make misspelled words more common.
Visual impairment and visual processing difficulties
Children and adults who struggle with visual impairment or visual processing difficulties may find spelling more challenging as they get less reinforcement from exposure to correct written forms.
English as a second, foreign or additional language
In individuals who are not native English speakers, first language interference can cause spelling errors.
For example, there’s been ample research on Arabic first language speakers who are more prone to making English spelling mistakes that have to do with missing or incorrect short vowels, also known as vowel blindness.
This is because in Arabic, short vowel sounds are not written and thus learning to write them after a lifetime of leaving them out is a very difficult process.
Depending on a person’s first language background, different kinds of spelling errors may be more common.
Learn more about writing in English and check out our strategies and tips for teaching EAL, EFL and ESL learners who are struggling with English spelling.
1. Mixing up homophones.
If you make mistakes with to (the preposition), two (the number), and too (the adverb) you are not alone. These words not only sound the same, but their spelling is similar. Nonetheless, they have different meanings and grammatical functions. The same goes for their, there, and they’re, whether and weather, and its and it’s which cause a lot of confusion.
These words are phonologically encoded in the same way. However, in writing we have to go out of our way to specify which version of the spoken word we want. Sometimes we skip this step and inadvertently put the wrong version down. This can happen in fluent bursts of writing where stopping to consciously process a word can interrupt the flow of thoughts.
As homophones are not necessarily misspelled (they’re the wrong word) and they sound the same, you are less likely to pick up on these mistakes in proofreading, unless you’re specifically looking for them.
What can you do to avoid making mistakes with homophones? As is the case with many pairs of words which look similar and are also close in meaning (affect and effect for example), sometimes we need to create a mnemonic device to help us tell the two (or three) apart.
Make sure you know how to use both words in the correct way and try learning a few sample sentences to give you examples you can reference when in doubt.
Next, it’s time to practice spelling. You can try flashcards, dictation exercises, or even a typing program like Touch-type Read and Spell – there’s even a homophones subject — until the words become automatized.
Automatization in spelling means you spell it without having to think about it. In touch-typing, your hands automatically follow the correct finger movement patterns to type the word.
Lastly, if you know these words are a problem, go out of your way to check every instance of them in your own writing – just to be sure you haven’t made any mistakes.
2. To double or not to double the letter.
One way in which we can change word stems in English is to add a prefix or suffix. These are the bits that come at the start or end of the word.
It may be a prefix that changes a word to the opposite meaning, such as in legal/illegal. It could also be a suffix the changes the tense of a verb from hop to hopped or swim to swimming.
It might be something more complicated too, like removing one ending and adding another, for example when happy becomes happier.
When prefixes and suffixes are concerned, the English speller has to make some tough decisions about doubling or not doubling letters (and in the case of happy dropping letters and changing vowels too!).
Certain suffixes require you to double the consonant at the end, for example -ing and -ed, and others, like -ly, do not.
There’s also doubling that occurs when there’s a vowel before the final letter, as in the hopped example above, or the word split which becomes splitting.
But as always in English, there are exceptions. If there’s already a double letter, you leave it. If the word ends in a vowel, you don’t double. If the final consonant is preceded by two vowels, there shouldn’t be any doubling.
There are some letters that are always doubled, like z, and others that are never doubled, take h, w, x and y for example.
There are words like tomorrow in which you just have to learn that only one of the middle consonants is doubled. There are also words with two pairs of doubles, accommodate, and those words where a double letter changes the meaning and pronunciation, such as in desert vs. dessert.
All in all, the double letter issue has tricked a lot of good English spellers, so don’t feel bad if you’re one of them.
How can you stop making spelling mistakes related to doubled letters? It does help to learn the rules and see lists of words which do and do not have their consonants doubled. If you know you struggle with a particular word, you can try coming up with a trick to remember its spelling.
Some people think that it’s hot in the desert so you only have one s, but with dessert, it’s so sweet you always want more so there are two.
If it’s a word in which you are tempted to double a letter that doesn’t need doubling, try writing it out repeatedly or typing it over and over until the one letter version becomes automatic. Unfortunately, if you’ve been misspelling it for some time it can be hard to get the fossilized form to go.
3. One word or two?
There are a number of words in English that are commonly misspelled as two words, or treated as one when they should be two. This is because adding two words together to make a new one, also known as compounding, is a perfectly acceptable thing to do in English.
A common spelling mistake is to write a lot as alot and no one as noone. In the case of the latter, no one is a multi-word chunk that behaves grammatically as though it were one word, but is actually two words. This is particularly confusing given nobody and nowhere are one word.
Some people are tempted to add hyphens. While it is true that hyphens can sometimes work, it depends if you are writing in UK or US English as they have different rules concerning their usage. And for words, like no one, you can’t use a hyphen no matter where you live.
Some words can be both one and two words. A lot of people spell everyday using its modifier form ‘It was just an everyday shirt, nothing special,’ when they really mean it as an expression of frequency which requires two words ‘I go to school every day.’
English also has a lot of phrasal verbs which have prepositions after them that function as part of the verb and can complicate the one or two-word distinction. You log in to the program but you use your login name and password to do so.
So how do you learn which words stay together and which should be kept apart? The best approach is to pull a list of confusing compound words and study them on a case by case basis. If you can come up with a story to help you remember, even better ‘no one wants to be packed in too tightly – people need a little space between.’
Spelling and grammar checks will alert you to this type of error when you’re writing on a computer, but they have a harder time catching context driven mistakes, as both word forms are permissible. However, if you’re aware of the errors you’re likely to make, it can help you be a more effective proof-reader of your own work.
Other types of errors
Leaving out silent letters
English has its fair share of silent letters. Silent -e’s abound at the end of words and it can be tempting to add them where they don’t belong, especially for young children who are just learning how to spell.
Mixing up word endings
English has a lot of similar bits that come up at the start and end of words. The -ible -able distinction is one that causes a lot of spelling mistakes.
Reversing letter order
This can happen in consonant clusters like tch or spl or when two or more vowels come together to make a sound ae vs. ea. Letter order is especially tricky for foreign loan words in which the consonant or vowel strings do not appear in many other English words.
Which words are the hardest to spell?
Every word has a different difficulty level for every person depending on a number of factors, ranging from how many words that person uses, to how commonly they encounter the word or have to produce it in writing.
Nonetheless, there are some factors which can make a word harder to spell, including the number of letters it contains, the number of syllables it contains, its general frequency in English and the transparency of its phonology.
Learn more about word-factors that affect spelling difficulty.
When does spelling matter?
Spelling ability is in no way related to intelligence, nor does it say anything about an individual’s strength as a writer. In fact, some of the most famous and celebrated English authors were notoriously bad spellers, from Jane Austin, to Hemingway, and even Agatha Christie!
But misspelled words can still lead to lower marks in education, and making mistakes is often seen as laziness attributed to poor proofreading.
More importantly, receiving a paper full of red marks can be quite demotivating and embarrassing for students. It can knock a child’s self-confidence and distract teachers from focusing on the quality of the actual composition.
Fear of making spelling errors may even impact future assignments by preventing kids from using the full extent of their vocabulary.
In adults, spelling mistakes may undermine respect and lead people to negatively judge a person’s capability as a worker. An adult who is self-conscious about his or her spelling skills may not pursue their preferred career or try for work promotions if they feel those lacking skills will be put on display.
Learn more about spelling skills for adults.
Ideas for improving spelling
- Involve all of your senses
Whereas fifty years ago writing the term repeatedly might have been your best option, today you can access an audio recording as you see the word and either write or type it out. Multi-sensory learning can make a big difference in retention as the combination of diverse sensory input helps reinforce learning to make words ‘stick.’
- Use phonics
Words are built of morphemes which are the smallest units of sound that carry meaning. Learning more about how English breaks down into individual sounds, and how those sounds are spelled, can give you a good grounding in English phonics and familiarize you with some of the basic spelling patterns.
- Be creative
When repetition doesn’t work, try detail to help with memory. Draw the word out and illustrate each letter. Make cut out collages. Activating your creative and artistic side can help with learning. Try this list for more tips on creative approaches to spelling.
- Get typing
Most of the writing we do these days happens on a computer or electronic device so it can help to become a proficient typist. Additionally, with typing you’re harnessing muscle memory in the fingers to transfer a word’s spelling into a series of movements. This is a particularly helpful technique for individuals who struggle with spelling because of dyslexia.
Touch-type Read and Spell
TTRS is a multi-sensory typing program that helps you improve your spelling skills gradually, and through a gentle approach.
The program features audio so you hear, see and type a word at the same time. Lessons follow a program of phonics to build your knowledge of English word-parts. Your spelling will improve and you don’t have to study any spelling rules.
See if the TTRS approach can work for you. By investing as little as ten minutes a day, you can become a proficient typist and a better speller in no time.
Learn more
How confident are you of your spelling skills? We asked top academics and writing experts to give us their top 100 hardest words to spell they’ve seen in students’ writing assignments. Spellings is extremely importnant, not less than grammar. This is what they came up with tips and a list of 100 most difficult words.
Tips on How to Spell Hard Words
So by now, you’ve realized that you have made your share of spelling mistakes and are wondering what you need to do to be a better speller. These tips are the same ones we see young students participating in spelling competitions use when they tackle any of several hard English words to spell. Give them all a try to see which tips work best for you:
- Watch what others do.
The first thing you may want to consider doing is looking at how others utilize different techniques to spell out difficult words. Start with the kids who compete in national spelling bees to get a sense of all the different things they do spell long or rare words correctly.
- Use your palms to spell.
If you have scratch paper at hand you can always spell out the word as close as you can and then make corrections when you see what you feel can be wrong. Other than this, you can
- Consider the origins.
The origin of words is a study known as etymology which traces a word’s lineage and existence to the first known use in written form. It is especially helpful to people wanting to learn how to spell words because you can trace root words and syllables.
Hard Words to Spell for 6th Graders
If you want to challenge yourself with very hard words to spell at the sixth-grade level, then this collection might be just what you’re looking for:
- Noticeable (Correct) / Noticable (Incorrect)
- Vacuum (Correct) / Vacume (Incorrect)
- Recommend (Correct) / Recomend (Incorrect)
- Occasion (Correct) / Ocassion (Incorrect)
- Beginning (Correct) / Begginning (Incorrect)
- Government (Correct) / Goverment (Incorrect)
- Committee (Correct) / Comitee (Incorrect)
- Mississippi (Correct) / Missisipi (Incorrect)
- Ancient (Correct) / Ainshent (Incorrect)
- Culture (Correct) / Culcher (Incorrect)
Hard Words to Spell for 7th Graders
In a time when spellcheck comes with every computer writing program, we may lose sight of terms in this list of hard words to spell:
- Chaos (Correct) / Kaos (Incorrect)
- Accommodation (Correct) / Accomodation (Incorrect)
- Strengthen (Correct) / Strengten (Incorrect)
- Misspelled (Correct) / Mispelled (Incorrect)
- Deceive (Correct) / Deseave (Incorrect)
- Receipt (Correct) / Receit (Incorrect)
- Arithmetic (Correct) / Arithmatic (Incorrect)
- Embarrass (Correct) / Embaras (Incorrect)
- Constitution (Correct) / Constatution (Incorrect)
- Encyclopedia (Correct) / Encyclopaedia (Incorrect)
Hard Words to Spell for 8th Graders
Here are hard to spell words spell for middle-school teenagers, particularly those in the 8th grade. Can you spell them without using spell-check?
- Pneumonia (Correct) / Neumonia (Incorrect)
- Acknowledgment (Correct) / Acknoledgement (Incorrect)
- Accidentally (Correct) / Accidentilly (Incorrect)
- Descendant (Correct) / Desendent (Incorrect)
- Exaggerate (Correct) / Exagerate (Incorrect)
- Courageous (Correct) / Corageous (Incorrect)
- Competent (Correct) / Compitent (Incorrect)
- Patriarch (Correct) / Patrearch (Incorrect)
- Pediatrician (Correct) / Pidiatrision (Incorrect)
- Picturesque (Correct) / Picturesche (Incorrect)
Hard Words to Spell for 9th Graders
In your first year of high school, you will likely encounter some of the hardest words to spell ever. Check out this list for 9th grade:
- Cavalcade (Correct) / Cavacade (Incorrect)
- Conscientious (Correct) / Consciescience (Incorrect)
- Fluorescent (Correct) / Florescent (Incorrect)
- Martyr (Correct) / Marter (Incorrect)
- Olfactory (Correct) / Ofactory (Incorrect)
- Facsimile (Correct) / Faximile (Incorrect)
- Gruesome (Correct) / Grewsome (Incorrect)
- Incessant (Correct) / Incessent (Incorrect)
- Reservoir (Correct) / Resavoire (Incorrect)
- Spasmodic (Correct) / Spasmodick (Incorrect)
Hard Words to Spell for 12th Graders
As you advance through educational levels, you will be introduced to more reading assignments and will grow your vocabulary. These are the hardest English words to spell at the 12th-grade level:
- Acquiesce (Correct) / Aquese (Incorrect)
- Ambiguous (Correct) / Ambiguus (Incorrect)
- Stringent (Correct) / Stringint (Incorrect)
- Evanescent (Correct) / Evansent (Incorrect)
- Querulous (Correct) / Quarelous (Incorrect)
- Spontaneity (Correct) / Spontenaity (Incorrect)
- Tenacious (Correct) / Tenashus (Incorrect)
- Divergent (Correct) / Divergeant (Incorrect)
- Resilient (Correct) / Resiliant (Incorrect)
- Renovation (Correct) / Renovashun (Incorrect)
Hard Words to Spell for College Students
Technology has made learning the hardest words to spell a rare activity. This list of 10 terms is considered to be college-level. See if you’re able to spell them without help:
- Pharaoh (Correct) / Farow (Incorrect)
- Intelligence (Correct) / Inteligense (Incorrect)
- Didactic (Correct) / Didachtik (Incorrect)
- Pronunciation (Correct) / Pronounsiation (Incorrect)
- Gobbledegook (Correct) / Gobblydigook (Incorrect)
- Euphemism (Correct) / Yufamism (Incorrect)
- Abrogate (Correct) / Abrohgate (Incorrect)
- Demagogue (Correct) / Demagog (Incorrect)
- Facetious (Correct) / Faseshus (Incorrect)
- Hyperbole (Correct) / Hyperboly (Incorrect)
Common Words that Are Hard to Spell
This list includes common hard words to spell for adults. It’s surprising how so many people struggle but all you have to do is check the web for examples of this happening:
- Thorough (Correct) / Thorogh (Incorrect)
- Rhythm (Correct) / Rythm (Incorrect)
- Peculiar (Correct) / Pechuliar (Incorrect)
- Buffet (Correct) / Bufay (Incorrect)
- Liaison (Correct) / Liason (Incorrect)
- Anecdote (Correct) / Anechdote (Incorrect)
- Anonymous (Correct) / Anonimous (Incorrect)
- Collaborate (Correct) / Colaborate (Incorrect)
- Substantiate (Correct) / Substanchiate (Incorrect)
- Reconciliation (Correct) / Reckonsiliation (Incorrect)
Long Hard Words to Spell
Sometimes multisyllabic words that are hard to spell are difficult because we don’t think about silent letters that may appear anywhere. Check these out below:
- Grammatically (Correct) / Gramatically (Incorrect)
- Magnanimous (Correct) / Magnanimus (Incorrect)
- Metamorphosis (Correct) / Metamofisus (Incorrect)
- Satisfactorily (Correct) / Satisfactory (Incorrect)
- Surveillance (Correct) / Surveylance (Incorrect)
- Unanimous (Correct) / Unianomous (Incorrect)
- Reconciliation (Correct) / Reconsiliation (Incorrect)
- Procrastinate (Correct) / Procrastanate (Incorrect)
- Ostentatious (Correct) / Ostantatious (Incorrect)
- Camaraderie (Correct) / Comraderie (Incorrect)
Super Hard Words to Spell
These are really hard words to spell, even for the best English spellers in the world. As you can see most are words familiar to medical professionals and scientists, so unless you’re familiar with the field you are likely to have trouble with them:
- Syllepsis (Correct) / Sylepsis (Incorrect)
- Antediluvian (Correct) / Antidiluvian (Incorrect)
- Crustaceology (Correct) / Crustaciology (Incorrect)
- Epidemiologist (Correct) / Epidimialogist (Incorrect)
- Ophthalmologist (Correct) / Optamologist (Incorrect)
- Nephrology (Correct) / Nefrology (Incorrect)
- Entomology (Correct) / Entimology (Incorrect)
- Chiaroscurist (Correct) / Chiaraschurist (Incorrect)
- Logorrhea (Correct) / Logoria (Incorrect)
- Sacrilegious (Correct) / Sacriligious (Incorrect)
Easy Words that Are Hard to Spell
Finally, this last set includes hard words to spell that is considered easy. Take your time spelling these out because you may find yourself feeling a bit embarrassed if you make a simple mistake:
- Acquire (Correct) / Akwire (Incorrect)
- Argument (Correct) / Arguement (Incorrect)
- Maintenance (Correct) / Maintanence (Incorrect)
- Gauge (Correct) / Ghage (Incorrect)
- Memento (Correct) / Mamento (Incorrect)
- Occurrence (Correct) / Ocurrance (Incorrect)
- Questionnaire (Correct) / Questionaire (Incorrect)
- Sergeant (Correct) / Sargeant (Incorrect)
- Weather (Correct) / Wheather (Incorrect)
- Awkward (Correct) / Awkwerd (Incorrect)
What did you think of our list? Did you manage to spell the majority of them? As you can see, a lot of the mistakes come from simple mispronunciations of the words or syllables. This, of course, can be fixed with time and patience. We’re always available to assist you, so just get a hold of our customer support team and we’ll provide you with more tips and tricks to improve your spelling skills and get better writing jobs.
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