PROBLEM WORDS
By problem words, I do not try to get you into a problem or scare you from using some vocabulary in your daily expression. But I am looking at words which create problems in terms of their spelling.
These are English words which are often misspelt. This occurs especially if one is not the original owner of the language or if he is learning English as his second or third language.
The list is endless. But I will highlight few alongside with their correct spelling.
NB: emphasis are on British English.
Correctly Spelt Word | Wrongly Spelt |
---|---|
Accommodation | Accomodation |
Abbreviation | Abbrieviation |
Accompany | Acompany |
Accumulate | Accumulate |
acquiesce | acquiese |
aghast | agast |
allocate | alocate |
amateur | amature |
asthma | asma |
auxiliary | auxilliary |
bazaar | baazar |
beggar | begger |
beginning | begining |
bicycle | bycicle |
buoy | bouy |
Caesarean | Cesarean |
Café | Cafe |
Canyon | canion |
ceiling | cieling |
collision | collission |
colloquial | colloquail |
committee | commitee |
conscientious | consientious |
controllable | controlable |
co-operate | coorperate |
curriculum | curricullum |
definition | defination |
diaphragm | diaphram |
dilemma | dilema |
diphthong | dipthong |
disappointment | dissappointment |
dissatisfaction | disatisfaction |
embarrass | embarass |
enough | egnough |
etiquette | etiquet |
explanation | explaination |
fearful | fearfull |
flammable | flameable |
glamour | glamor |
government | goverment |
grievous | grevious |
guarantee | guarrantee |
haemorrhage | haemorage |
handkerchief | hankerchief |
harass | harras |
hippopotamus | hipoppotamus |
humorous | humourous |
incurred | incured |
inoculate | innoculate |
interrogate | interogate |
Island | iland |
kindergarten | kindergarden |
knight | night |
manoeuvre | maneuver |
massacre | massacer |
Mediterranean | Mediteranean |
memento | momento |
mileage | milage |
miscellaneous | miscellanous |
moustache | moustach |
necessary | neccesary |
occasion | ocassion |
occupation | occuppation |
occurrence | ocurrence |
pageant | pagent |
paediatrician | pediatrician |
phlegm | phlem |
portrait | potrait |
prestige | prestege |
privilege | previlege |
proceed | procceed |
procession | proccession |
professor | proffessor |
pronunciation | pronounciation |
psychiatrist | psychaitrist |
quandary | quandry |
quarantine | quarrantine |
receive | recieve |
reference | referance |
rheumatism | reumatism |
rhythm | rythm |
sanguine | sanguin |
Shakespeare | Shakespear |
silhouette | silloutte |
sponsor | sponser |
tambourine | tamborine |
tomorrow | tommorow |
until | untill |
vaccinate | vacinate |
vacuum | vacumm |
veterinarian | vetrinarian. |
A tricky word like occurrence had double "C" and a double "R" miss spelling it as occurence or ocurrence is a common error among many writers.
The problem sometimes comes from words we inherited from Greek, Latin, French or other languages that have been incorporated into English. Café has retained its original spelling with the accented é from the French language.
Another borrowed word is Canyon from Spanish. It is often misspelt as canion or canyen.
Spelling words based on how they sound had also been a major reasom for miss spelling words that have silent latters in them. Words like knight with a silent "k" and Island with a silent "s"
The center/centre error occurs when we switch between American and British spelling in a single write-up.
I encourage you to look up an English dictionary to find out their meaning.
I am inviting @udyliciouz, @Bossj23, @manuelhooks to do assessment of these words.
https://x.com/rubees4life/status/1911929413618569430
Personally, I've been having these issues of most commonly misspelt words but I've come to learn one particular word from you which is harass. I usually think it's harass with a double r. Thanks for sharing. You would have used the tabulated form for this but nevermind, it's still very much ohkay
Ok. Thanks for your suggestion. Tabulation has been done.
Thank you for publishing an article in the Steem4nigeria community today. We have assessed your entry and we present the result of our assessment below.
Review Date:17/04/2025
*MODs Comment/Recommendation:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic with us, keep posting quality contents.
Best wishes to you!💕
Thanks