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Most Misspelled Words
Most Misspelled Words in English
In a world where first impressions matter, a misspelled word can undermine your efforts to make a positive impact. So, spelling mistakes are not a trivial matter. They diminish your credibility and professionalism, and they can make your message less clear.Whether you're writing an academic paper, a job application, or a business email, spelling mistakes create an impression of carelessness and a lack of attention to detail.
Top 20 Misspelled Words
Here are the top 20 misspelled words in English. This list is ordered by the number of times the misspellings were Googled in one month. (Where there are two common misspellings, an average was used.)Position | Correct Spelling | Common Misspelling |
---|---|---|
1 | separate ![]() | seperate ![]() |
2 | calendar ![]() | calender ![]() |
3 | unnecessary ![]() | unecessary ![]() ![]() |
4 | questionnaire ![]() | questionaire ![]() |
5 | accidentally ![]() | accidentaly ![]() |
6 | necessary ![]() | neccessary ![]() |
7 | surprise ![]() | suprise ![]() |
8 | embarrass ![]() | embarass ![]() ![]() |
9 | accommodation ![]() | accomodation ![]() ![]() |
10 | receive ![]() | recieve ![]() |
11 | weird ![]() | wierd ![]() |
12 | definitely ![]() | definately ![]() |
13 | business ![]() | buisness ![]() |
14 | independent ![]() | independant ![]() |
15 | tattoo ![]() | tatoo ![]() |
16 | beginning ![]() | begining ![]() |
17 | absence ![]() | absense ![]() ![]() |
18 | acknowledge ![]() | acknowlege ![]() ![]() |
19 | diarrhoea ![]() | diarrea ![]() ![]() |
20 | conscience ![]() | conscence ![]() ![]() |
Table of Contents
- Why Is Spelling So Hard in English?
- How To Fix Spelling Mistakes
- The Top Ten Most Misspelled Words
- Printable Test
- Learn with Hangman!
Why Is Spelling So Hard in English?
Here are the five most common causes of spelling mistakes.(1) Inconsistency with Vowels
In English, the sounds of the vowels are inconsistent, and this is a main cause of spelling mistakes. Here are some examples that highlight the inconsistency of vowel sounds:inconsistent vowels | |
---|---|
finite | definite |
bead | bread |
tree | puree |
said | braid |
lose | close |
woman | women |
(2) Lack of Clarity with Vowels
In many English words, it is unclear which vowel features in one or more of the syllables. Often, the vowel sounds like a short "uh" sound, leaving the writer guessing which vowel made that sound. (This short "uh" sound is called a schwa. It is represented by this symbol ə, i.e., an upside down "e".)In these examples, the bold vowels sound like schwas:
vowel | vowel as a schwa |
---|---|
a | salad , alphabet , thousand |
e | elephant , taken , item |
i | animal , cousin , pencil |
o | bottom , dinosaur , phantom |
u | rhombus , upon , supply |
(3) Spelling Inconsistency with Consonants
As a rule, the sounds of the consonants are more consistent, but not always. For example:inconsistent consonants | |
---|---|
lose | loose |
desperate | desert |
give | ginger |
mentor | mention |
silent consonants |
---|
knife |
gnome |
pneumatic |
(4) Typing Errors
Typing errors are another common cause of misspelling. Typically, with typing errors, the letters are transposed (e.g., "teh" instead of "the" or "becuase" instead of "because").(5) Homophones and Near Homophones
Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings. For example:homophones | |
---|---|
aid | aide |
altar | alter |
awe | oar |
bear | bare |
break | brake |
chord | cord |
- John has strong principals, and he refuses to perform this task.
How To Fix Spelling Mistakes
Here are two useful techniques to improve your spelling:(1) Tell Yourself a Story
Word | "Story" |
---|---|
rhythm | r + helps your two hips move |
separate | There's "a rat" in separate |
accommodation | There is enough accommodation for 2 Cs, 2 Ms, and 3 Os. |
(2) Break the Word Down
To help with spelling, break the word down into prefixes, root words, and suffixes.Prefix | Root Word | Suffix | Correct Spelling |
---|---|---|---|
mis- | spell | -ing | misspelling |
dis- | respect | -ful -ly | disrespectfully |
The Top Ten Most Misspelled Words

Help Us Improve Grammar Monster
- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
Learn with Hangman!
Hangman is a classic word game. In this version, the hidden word is always a commonly misspelled word (but not necessarily from our "Top 20" list). Choose your first letter to start.- Guess the hidden word by choosing one letter at a time.
- If you guess a letter in the hidden word, then all is good.
- If you guess a letter that is not in the hidden word, then the hangman starts to build the gallows.
- If the gallows are completed, you lose.
- Good luck!
Find Us Quicker!
- When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.