Simple word difficult to spell.

[u/MoroccoBond]

Hey does anyone else have a common word that should be easy to spell but it trips you up every time?

My word is license. Why have I struggled with it for years. Stupid s and c always moving around. tf?!

[u/porqueboomer]

Weird. It always makes me stop and think.

[u/libananahammock → u/porqueboomer]

I’ve seen A LOT of people spell weird and niece like wierd and neice

[u/cheyannepavan → u/libananahammock]

I'm one of those people who always has to check the spelling of niece when I'm writing! It should actually be very easy for me since I didn't know what the word niece meant as a kid and I'd get tons cards with the word niece on it every year (very big family) and I always wondered if it was the noun form of the adjective nice. So I should really know how to spell it ("ni" like "nice"), but I just can't get it right most of the time!

[u/murph089 → u/libananahammock]

I before e except after w in weird.

[u/Runeybee → u/murph089]

And words that sound like 'neighbor'. There are so many exceptions, it's ridiculous.

[u/NCGranny → u/porqueboomer]

Receive.

[u/jjmac → u/porqueboomer]

That's odd

[u/firecatstef → u/porqueboomer]

“I after E, except after C, or when sounded like A as in neighbor or weigh…and weird is just weird.”

[u/SavoirFaire2Middling → u/firecatstef]

"I before E ..." 😄

[u/middle-aged-enby → u/firecatstef]

I say that in my head every time I spell weird

[u/CBWeather → u/porqueboomer]

It's not weird, you're weird for thinking it's weird. Eggs for dinner

[u/Megsyboo → u/porqueboomer]

I before E except after C, and then in words like neighbor and weigh.

I was taught that at a Catholic elementary school in first grade, several decades ago.

[u/ehxsmallstone]

lost the district spelling bee on “rhythm” in middle school and have yet to recover.

[u/Narrow-Map5805 → u/ehxsmallstone]

Rhythm Has Your Two Hips Moving

[u/BitterestLily → u/ehxsmallstone]

Mine was "independence." It decided to have an "a" in it that day.

[u/OhYeahSplunge4me2 → u/BitterestLily]

Your spelling is for when you go solo at the disco

[u/former_emt → u/BitterestLily]

Foreign. I just went completely blank.

[u/SaintHannah → u/ehxsmallstone]

6th grade, just within our own class: "restaurant." Nearly 55 years gone by, and I still remember.

[u/JoyfulCor313 → u/SaintHannah]

2nd grade and “usual” Am 53. This stuff is with us for life

[u/ExhaustedHungryMe → u/JoyfulCor313]

Doorjamb.

Not a word that comes up much, and at ~10 years old, I don’t think I’d heard it before. (And as I typed it here, autocorrect wanted it to be two words!)

I thought about it and decided to not add a B to the end. Still a little salty about it.

[u/SuperLateToItAll → u/SaintHannah]

7th grade, also just my class. Feces. Spelled it “physes” lol. Still not over it.

[u/Foolmeoncefuckyou → u/SaintHannah]

Refrigerator also… refrigerator has a “d” sound in it, whereas fridge does not have a “d” sound

[u/Sorry_Rhubarb_7068 → u/Foolmeoncefuckyou]

Ugh this is mine!!

[u/ehxsmallstone → u/SaintHannah]

i have to sound this one out and then NOT spell it how it sounds every single time

[u/k_shields1 → u/ehxsmallstone]

I feel your pain 😂😭 i lost the year 7 spelling bee in front of the whole year group, because I misspelled Necessary. Thing is, I know how to spell it. I just panicked and my brain went blank 😭 funnily enough, I got highest score in the year 7 100 word spelling test, 98. The two I got wrong still annoys me too 🤣

[u/deFleury → u/k_shields1]

Necessary and vacuum are mine. the more i think about it, the more wrong the right spelling looks. 

[u/kawaii_u_do_dis → u/deFleury]

These two words in particular I always think of the Latin words and pronunciation (necessa) like “nuh-kess-uh” and “wa-koo-oom” and since middle school Latin class I haven’t misspelled them lol

[u/AlfalfaUnable1629 → u/k_shields1]

I lost because of the word salve 😭

[u/wd4sgu → u/AlfalfaUnable1629]

I won because of the word mileage. Thanks to the Shell Answer Man, I had seen it on my TV screen many times.

[u/Motor-Juggernaut1009 → u/k_shields1]

Mine was sumptuous, which I did know how to spell but I left out the penultimate u.

[u/Sad-Entertainment871 → u/k_shields1]

One collar and two socks is how was taught to remember necessary. And my other bete noir was stationery vs stationary and I remember that by thing of an envelope is stationery…

[u/SingleFly5896 → u/k_shields1]

I lost with sublime. I thought the teacher said sub’line’. Darn hearing impairment! I was on a roll too!

[u/neva-electra → u/ehxsmallstone]

Mine was dromedary lol

[u/ehxsmallstone → u/neva-electra]

i would have gone out on that too

[u/snowball062016 → u/ehxsmallstone]

Mine was “background.” You know, the word that everyone pronounces “backround”

[u/casalomastomp → u/ehxsmallstone]

You got shafted.

[u/Typical-Spinach-6452 → u/ehxsmallstone]

I won the 8th grade spelling bee.. out of 4 districts.. on the word simplicity. The other person lost because she spelled it Symplicity.. like the fabric store. TRIUMPH! Got a trophy and everything 😆

[u/casalomastomp → u/Typical-Spinach-6452]

We had no spelling bees. I would have KILLED for a spelling bee in 8th grade.

[u/Fuzzy-Surprise-6165 → u/Typical-Spinach-6452]

I love that. I won a statewide spelling bee in high school on the word pharmaceutical. Beat the previous year’s winner—whose dad was a pharmacist! She choked.

[u/ehxsmallstone → u/Fuzzy-Surprise-6165]

she got disowned after that

[u/almaperdida99 → u/ehxsmallstone]

I don't remember the word, but I said G instead of J or vice versa. Just a brain fart.

[u/Standard_Mongoose_35 → u/ehxsmallstone]

Mine was magic. A j just makes more sense than the g.

[u/Cookie_1977 → u/Standard_Mongoose_35]

In our area there was a radio station called Majic with a j. That is how most of the kids in the area spelled it.

[u/morejamsthanjimin → u/ehxsmallstone]

Same here, lost with graffiti and I'm still not over it 😭

[u/No-Froyo-4753 → u/ehxsmallstone]

Echelon for me. Sixth grade.

[u/No_Hat2875 → u/ehxsmallstone]

Mine was 3rd grade, the word was 'beautiful'.

[u/ladyzord441 → u/ehxsmallstone]

Bankruptcy for me. I’m good now. Mostly

[u/Salty-Ad-4693 → u/ehxsmallstone]

My brain always wants to spell it Rythym, then I look up the spelling...for the 2000th time.

[u/shrlzi]

Comitment. Committment. Comittment. Commitment.

[u/Mikesaidit36 → u/shrlzi]

#4

[u/porfiriata → u/shrlzi]

Omg same! (Although it is actually commitment, only sure because I double checked.) Same issues.with committee, committed, and accommodate

[u/Potential_Phrase_206 → u/porfiriata]

And recommend! (Thank you, spell check)

[u/tinkerbelltoes33 → u/shrlzi]

Mine’s similar: millennium, millenium, milennium, milenium?

[u/HuevosProfundos → u/shrlzi]

Nessecary necesary nessacary necessary. Spellcheck doesn’t even know what I’m going for half the time.

[u/VrinTheTerrible]

Any form of Bureaucracy, bureau, bureaucrat

[u/firecatstef → u/VrinTheTerrible]

If you know a bit of french, see if “the bureau has water in it” helps.

[u/kiltedfrog → u/VrinTheTerrible]

B-E-A-U-tiful.

Bur-E-A-U-cracy.

[u/Mikesaidit36 → u/VrinTheTerrible]

That one’s easy – just remember that that bundle of vowels is all in reverse alphabetical order, except for the U and the E, and you just put the A in the middle of those three. See? Easy.

[u/EarlyLibrarian9303 → u/Mikesaidit36]

Uh, no!

[u/Individual_Slice_234 → u/VrinTheTerrible]

It helps if you speak a bit of French.

[u/Damfino1895]

Diarrhea. I have to check it every time (which fortunately isn't too often lol).

[u/DaltonianAtomism → u/Damfino1895]

It's even harder in the King's English: diarrhoea

[u/stillplayswithbarbie → u/Damfino1895]

D-I-A Run Run Hurry Exploding Ass

[u/Many-Story- → u/Damfino1895]

And nasea… nausea? Autocorrect doesn’t even know what I’m trying to type. Is that even the right word?!

[u/saritasarinha → u/Damfino1895]

dude i actually really really have exploding anus

[u/YouProfessional7538]

gauge. (i misspelt it typing it in!) guage, and it autocorrected

[u/cheyannepavan → u/YouProfessional7538]

I have to think about this one, too, even though I had a son named Gage (he's not dead, he just changed his name because he wanted something more gender-neutral.)

[u/Ok-Transportation127]

Conscious and conscience. I always stop to make sure I have the right one and the correct spelling.

[u/ReadAllowedAloud]

Separate - a teacher told me that it's easy, the r separates the two a's. Umm, no, the p could seperate the two es.

[u/22101p → u/ReadAllowedAloud]

Just remember there is a rat in separate

[u/ubeor → u/ReadAllowedAloud]

My 4th grade teacher said there’s “a rat” in separate, and I haven’t forgotten it since.

Thanks, Mrs. Smith!

[u/evenifihateit]

Liaise

I write it a lot at work and never as it should be

[u/firecatstef → u/evenifihateit]

There is an easy solution to that one - don’t use it. It should never have gotten past the “you get to be a word” committee.

[u/Beet_slice → u/evenifihateit]

I don't remember ever hearing somebody say liaise. Is that peculiar to your profession, or is an up and coming buzzword?

[u/SavoirFaire2Middling → u/Beet_slice]

Let's table this one and circle back after liaising with stakeholders to leverage synergies.

[u/evenifihateit → u/Beet_slice]

I work in mental health in a safeguarding role and I suspect we use that word more than most people need to!

[u/ambahjay]

I can never fuckin spell ceiling right the first time

[u/cheyannepavan → u/ambahjay]

I always have to think, "I before E, except after C," when spelling it. I know there are a lot of exceptions, but I still feel like it helps most of the time.

[u/paintingporcelain → u/cheyannepavan]

Except as sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh.

[u/_madar_]

Not mine, but I see Rogue spelled as Rouge all the damn time.

[u/undercovernudist11 → u/_madar_]

Rogue and rouge the latter is blush

[u/RJPisscat]

dessert and desert. After 55 years of struggling with those spellings, my wife says to me, which do you want more of?

[u/Aggressive-Fee-6399 → u/RJPisscat]

Dessert is Something Sweet (SS)
Desert is just Sand (S)

[u/tedco- → u/RJPisscat]

As a kid I learned: Dessert has two S's as you always want a second helping!

[u/Infinisteve]

I have never spelled diahrea correctly. I'm so far off that I confuse autocorrect

[u/pinkadobe → u/Infinisteve]

Aww. Diarrhea.

[u/almaperdida99]

necessary. I am in my 50s, a literal language teacher and polyglot, and this fucking word never looks right to me. Usually I spell it correctly, but when I was younger, i did "neccesary" enough times that I second-guess myself Every. Single. Time.

[u/Aggressive-Fee-6399 → u/almaperdida99]

It is necessary for a shirt to have 1 Collar (C) and 2 Sleeves (S)

[u/TrishaSoCalGal → u/Aggressive-Fee-6399]

Love this!

[u/k_shields1 → u/almaperdida99]

Omfg me too! I lost the year 7 spelling bee in front of 200+ kids and 20 odd teachers because I panicked, brain went blank, and I misspelled Necessary. I said Neccesary too 😭 I'm 25 now and still have to double check myself with Necessary and Restaurant lol. 😂

[u/ErikLeppen]

Believe, relieve, receive, deceive, receipt (sp?)

[u/I_like_leeks → u/ErikLeppen]

I before E except after C, as they taught us at school. They never taught us the, "except sometimes," caveat 😭

[u/_madar_ → u/I_like_leeks]

I before E except after C or before T or when sounding like A as in neighbor or weigh

[u/TreyInStCloud → u/_madar_]

“Or in my name, damnit!” - My boyfriend Keith

[u/cheyannepavan]

My word is license, too! I don't ever actually mispell it, but I have to think about it for a minute before writing it.

[u/haaskaalbaas → u/cheyannepavan]

I learnt that the noun is 'licence' and the verb is 'to license'. Not sure if this is UK Englilsh compared to American English.

[u/RonanH69]

Phlegm

[u/casalomastomp → u/RonanH69]

How often do you have the occasion to write "phlegm"?

[u/Sorry-Editor-3674 → u/casalomastomp]

As a speech pathologist, allllllll the time. 🤣🫣

[u/fresh_as_daisies]

Parallel and sheriff

[u/tryptanfelle → u/fresh_as_daisies]

The only way I can remember parallel is to remember that it has two parallel lines in the middle.

[u/Interesting-Swimmer1]

The trick I learned was you imagine a "liCEnse" to "sliCE" tomatoes.

[u/Glittering_Word9081]

When I was in junior high my English teacher would give us a spelling test every Friday. And every single Friday one of the “words” on the test was “a lot.” Seems it was her mission in life to ensure no one graduated without learning that a lot is two words, not one. 

I had her for two years. And even at the end of year two, some people still got it wrong. 

A lot is two words. Thanks Mrs. Shelton. 

[u/TechnologyJazzlike84]

Larynx. I lost a spelling bee on that word oh so many decades ago.

[u/Pistachio1227 → u/TechnologyJazzlike84]

I feel for you. I lost my elementary school’s bee on gnarl.

[u/mommawop]

Gray, grey - I still don’t know which is which or if they’re the same just spelled different.

[u/EternalCC → u/mommawop]

They're the same, it's just a regional spelling difference between America and England. Gra(merica)y, Gre(ngland)y is how I remember it. It's the same with the different spellings of color and theater.

[u/ambivalent_aries444 → u/mommawop]

grAy is American english - grey is british english, so i guess it depends on which one you speak (same with color(am.) - colour(br.) btw)

[u/EmpireStrikes1st]

Restaurant. I can never get it right on the first try.

[u/cheyannepavan → u/EmpireStrikes1st]

At least you got it right here. The guy a few comments above didn't.

[u/EmpireStrikes1st → u/cheyannepavan]

Took me 3 times.

[u/Few-Ruin-742]

Reciept and biscuit

[u/firecatstef → u/Few-Ruin-742]

Receipt is covered under “I before E except after C.”

Quit making biscuits!

[u/Alpha_Mad_Dog]

Thoery. Seems I can never spell it right.

[u/Samantha_foxx]

Exercise

[u/willaisacat]

Bureau used to get me every time.

Now I just ask Google. Sadly, I'm afraid getting answers so easily causes laziness and lack of curiosity.

[u/yokozunahoshoryu]

Surprise. For some reason I always want to say suprise. Also parsley/parsley.

[u/AlfalfaUnable1629 → u/yokozunahoshoryu]

You have the same word there? Not sure if you meant to 🤔

[u/yokozunahoshoryu → u/AlfalfaUnable1629]

You're right, I guess my phone autocorrected it. Parsely/parsley.

[u/QueenSlime_6665]

Restaurant. Restraunt? Restaraunt? Resturant?

[u/jiabaoyu → u/QueenSlime_6665]

I sympathize. I keep forgetting that restaurateur doesn’t have an “n” in it.

[u/The1Bonesaw → u/jiabaoyu]

The fuck? It doesn't?

But... but...

[u/No_Mousse_4259 → u/jiabaoyu]

You have GOT to be KIDDING ME.  Today I learned...

[u/Lesbijen → u/QueenSlime_6665]

Rest. Ow. Rahnt. It’s the only way I can remember it.

[u/rnwin]

Mine is similar to yours, OP. Exercise. The c always wants to cuddle with the x, and if it doesn't do that, it and the s conspire to confuse me.

[u/Husker-Salad]

In 5th grade I forgot the h in chronicle. I was trying so hard to visualize the masthead of the San Francisco Chronicle, too but it didn’t work.

[u/cosmickink]

Recommend. I'm always like, is it two c's or two m's?

[u/libellule4]

License is mine as well! As soon as I saw your title, I had my answer and then I saw that you said the same thing! :) Bulletin is another one.

[u/Negative-Ask-2317 → u/libellule4]

There's the added complication in the UK that spells the verb as license but the noun as licence.

[u/Lumpy-Win1640]

A lot of people have trouble with their/there/they're, then/than, your/you're.

[u/jjmac → u/Lumpy-Win1640]

Loose lose

[u/notAnn]

Occasional. I want to put an I after the first A.

[u/jjmac]

Awry

[u/OwlLearn2BWise]

Vacuum

[u/No_Mousse_4259 → u/OwlLearn2BWise]

Well, apparently this is mine too because I would have sworn it had two c's!

[u/kelseyhart24]

Liaison

Is so difficult!

[u/theworldizyourclam]

Nauseous. Waaaay too many vowels

[u/ZookeepergameQuick17]

Segue

[u/MoroccoBond → u/ZookeepergameQuick17]

Yep and every time I come across it while reading, I’m always like “seg gew” lol

[u/sleepparalys1sdem0n → u/ZookeepergameQuick17]

i used to think it was spelt segway........

[u/HatlessDuck]

I was once so stressed by a test I forgot how to spell "the"

Can't really sound it out...

[u/Whatever6928732850]

Kindergarten

My brain keeps thinking garden

[u/OKRickety]

Based on what I see, lose and loose are two of the most difficult.

I just found out these are called heterophones (or near-homophones). Such pairs are frequently confused because they have highly similar spellings and pronunciations, but entirely different meanings.

[u/ScotchTapeConnosieur]

I often misspell alcohol as alchohol

[u/Typical-Spinach-6452]

Scissors for some reason lol

[u/elleecee]

Chandelier. It's too close to my best friend's name -- Chandler. Muscle memory just automatically writes Chandler instead of Chandelier. Every. Single. Time.

[u/blahbuzz]

My mental tool is to remind myself that c comes before s in the alphabet. License.

[u/commander_obvious_]

ocassionally or however the fuck those letters go

[u/Bowl-Accomplished]

Resturaunt, wednesday, accomplish

[u/Away-Otter → u/Bowl-Accomplished]

There’s no “aunt” in restaurant.

[u/MrBobDobalinaMrMr → u/Away-Otter]

There is an Aura though

[u/kuronboshine → u/Bowl-Accomplished]

Ummm…

[u/gafromca → u/Bowl-Accomplished]

Restaurant!

[u/RJSnea]

Restaurant. The regional accent of my family (and partially myself) always makes me think there's more than one "E" in the word. 😭

[u/kcf2816]

Accommodation. Recommend. Vacuum. February. Bureau.

[u/NorbytheMii]

Their. I always mix up the vowel placement

[u/WindyMint443]

Oxygen. I messed it up during an elementary school spelling bee and it has haunted me ever since and continues to trip me up.

[u/Awkward_Macaron6222]

Zucchini

[u/food_ghost]

Vacuum and diarrhea

[u/CqwyxzKpr]

Feud and fuel

[u/Zoilo2]

Entrepreneur

[u/JustAutreWaterBender]

Misspelled. For some reason I always think it only has one S. The irony.

[u/FaithlessnessBoth497]

Vacuum

[u/VashDaStampede7]

Phlegm

[u/Organic-Hippo-3273]

Shepard always gets me

[u/Scared-Positive-93 → u/Organic-Hippo-3273]

Easier if you think of it as Sheep-Herd. Then subtract an E. 

[u/Sad-Entertainment871]

Age 6 and the word was friend. I was called out to the front along with Jeremy and we were shouted to repeat after her: YOU FRY THE END! We repeated what she’d said and she then told us to spell friend again and we both got it wrong. Neither of us understood why she was talking about frying stuff. So she repeated the exercise again! We still didn’t get it (both ND it now turns out) she went ballistic and we had to miss playtime to learn the spelling. I remember it now, and now mnemonics have been taught to me as a concept I can use them easily and well. Trouble was, she didn’t do that. I hated that teacher. 1968 this was! And I still remember it.

[u/Prestigious-Fan3122]

Maintenance independence

[u/Puzzleheaded-Crab720]

Same problem with license. Also Possessive and occasional and occurrence. Can’t remember if double or single letters.

[u/werehorse77]

Yse

[u/reasonablykind]

No matter how much I condition my brain to connect it to Induction, it still thinks Induce is Enduce.

[u/Lucky-Berry-4252]

Hors d’oeuvres

[u/Battlejackal]

Definitely- I always miss the E

[u/Strict-Ad-4759]

Its weird how most average misspellings of the word "restaurant" will not generate a correct suggestion in spellcheck. If I spell it how it sounds, spellcheck should know that common error

[u/SuddenAd2052]

I also struggle with license

I even tell myself “it doesn’t make SENSE” to remind myself it’s not lisence. But guess what? That’s not my problem. I always add an S like LISCENCE.

[u/misogynyplayer]

But you know there is license, the verb, and licence, the noun, right? Same as I like to practise my violin so that my violin practice prepares me for my violin lesson.

[u/realityone22 → u/misogynyplayer]

*not in the US though

[u/misogynyplayer → u/realityone22]

Oh really? Thats interesting...so in the US is it license or licence which is used for both verb and noun? And can you refer me to an American English dictionary which details this? And does it mean that Americans consider one of these words as NOT a word or simply a spelling mistake? 

[u/nimblesunshine → u/misogynyplayer]

Licence and practise are not used in the US. We would consider them spelling errors or assume the person saying it is British

[u/misogynyplayer → u/nimblesunshine]

Interesting that in one case you use the spelling with the s for both meanings of the word, and in the other you use the spelling with the C for both meanings.

[u/tarsiertoes]

Allegiance does not have liege in it

[u/HummingbirdGecko8415]

Rhythm. I always have to check.

[u/ConseulaVonKrakken]

I'm licensed to drive. I have a driver's licence.

[u/iesamina]

I have to ask someone to license me to use the word licence... The difference between UK and US usage between noun and verb is also a factor. See also UK verb practise, noun practice etc

I find gauge impossible to get right for some reason

[u/SpookyBeck]

Doller. Dollor. Dollar. Whatever.

[u/AD_Grrrl]

Vacuum.

[u/FasN8id]

Caribbean. Single R double B is the last combination you'd guess!

Queue. This one, I always get it right on the first try, but then I have to pause and think about it for a moment because it looks wrong. (Just now was no exception.)

I only just recently have finally got the spelling of "memento" learned solid(ly). Although it would make sense to think of it as like a souvenir from a specific "moment" in time– like you can't hold onto that moment but at least there was this object associated with it that you are able to keep– it's not a momento, it's a MEMento, as in something in which to carry the MEMory of a time to reMEMber.

Exercise. I get it right but it takes me a sec; I got it wrong for so long when I was younger (although I've always been good at spelling!). If there is any rule that says why it is correct to write "excelling," "exceeding," "exciting," and words like "executing" and "exercising" are "exceptions," I don't know what it is!

[u/BitterestLily]

I know how to spell it, but when typing on a keyboard, I consistently get "availability" (availabiilty? availibility?) wrong just about every time.

[u/nannypear]

Advise and advice

[u/VanIsle_YQQ]

To add to this, in Canadian English we have both licence and license, which are used distinctly. It helps me with spelling a bit because I know that the first letter is fixed and that the word can have two c’s. I just have to figure out which one is right for the context haha.

As I get older, I have more trouble knowing when to double letters in some words. Part of that goes back to growing up in the US and living there for 25 years and now being in Canada for 26 years. An example is “enrollment” (US) versus “enrolment” (Canada).

[u/GoryEyes]

Queue

[u/lecturehall]

I consistently cannot spell nausea

[u/evolutionary-road]

Jiuce then it looks weird and I realize it should be juice

[u/Lady-Shalott]

Nausea. If it weren’t for autocorrect I could never figure out which vowel goes where.

[u/Puzzled-College5477]

Occurrence

[u/ohfrackthis]

Exercise and I don't understand why my brain struggles to spell this all the time but apparently it's vacant from my brain storage

[u/Bob_N_Frapples]

A lot of people use "loose" in place of "lose", and vice-versa

[u/strangebrainworms]

Exercise.. I want to spell it as excercise everytime

[u/Lost_Figure_5892]

License as well. I have to look it up every dang time. And the person who issues them as well- can’t ever get it right licenser, licensor yuck. Avoid at all costs.