Learned or Learnt?

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Learned or Learnt?

What is the difference between "learned" and "learnt"?
  • If you're following US writing conventions, use "learned."
  • If you're following UK writing conventions, use "learnt."
If you're describing someone as educated, you must use "learned." In this meaning, "learned" is a two-syllable word.
"our learned colleague"
learned or learnt?
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More about "Learned" and "Learnt"

The verb "to learn" means to acquire knowledge of, or skill in, something through study or experience.

"To learn" is one of those verbs with both an irregular form and a regular form.
VerbPast SimplePast Participle
learnlearned OR learntlearned OR learnt
As shown in the table, the past tense and the past participle can be written as either "learned" or "learnt." However, they are not interchangeable, especially in the US.

Americans Demand "Learned"

In America, "learned" dominates. The use of "learnt" as the past tense or past participle of "to learn" is considered a spelling mistake by many. It will certainly annoy a fair proportion of your readers.

Brits Prefer "Learnt"

Outside America, "learnt" is more common, but "learned" is generally accepted. (This is almost certainly a result of American influence spreading.)

Verbs with Irregular and Regular Forms

The following verbs (like "to learn") can be regular or irregular:
VerbPast SimplePast Participle
burnburned OR burntburned OR burnt
dreamdreamed OR dreamtdreamed OR dreamt
hanghung
also hanged		hung
also hanged
smellsmelled OR smeltsmelled OR smelt
spellspelled OR speltspelled OR spelt
As with "learnt," the second form (e.g. "spelt," "dreamt") is more common in British English.

If You Mean "Educated," Use "Learned"

The word "learned" is used as an adjective meaning knowledgeable, wise or well-educated. It has two syllables and is stressed on the first one (i.e., LEARN + ed).

A Video Summary

Here's a quick video summarizing this lesson on learned and learnt.

Interactive Exercise
Here are three randomly selected questions from a larger exercise, which can be edited, printed to create an exercise worksheet, or sent via email to friends or students.

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See Also

adverse or averse? affect or effect? appraise or apprise? avenge or revenge? bare or bear? complement or compliment? dependant or dependent? discreet or discrete? disinterested or uninterested? dived and dove e.g. or i.e.? envy or jealousy? hanged and hung imply or infer? its or it's? material or materiel? poisonous or venomous? practice or practise? principal or principle? spelled and spelt tenant or tenet? who's or whose? What are verbs? What are regular verbs? What are regular verbs? What is the past tense? What are past participles? What are nouns? List of easily confused words