The English language is exceptionally difficult to learn. Part of the reason relates to how words are put together \u2013 often using \u2018silent\u2019 letters that don\u2019t seem to appear when the word is spoken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here, we\u2019ve put together a list of the trickiest words to spell in common English \u2013 and an explanation of why each of these words catch people out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For such a common word, Wednesday is commonly misspelled. Why, well \u2013 a big part of the reason is how the word is spoken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some accents, the word appears to sound like \u201cWens-day\u201d. In other regional accents, the word sounds more like \u201cWedens-day\u201d. However, it\u2019s very rare to hear anyone say \u201cWed-nes-day\u201d \u2013 which is how the word is actually spelled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It seems we have the Norse god Odin to blame for these errors. Known as \u2018Woden\u2019 in ancient Norse lore, his name was given to the day in the middle of the working week. Translation into Old English and development of the language saw the word eventually change from \u201cWoden\u2019s Day\u201d into Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you liquefy something, you turn it into liquid. It\u2019s something you might do with baby food or fruit \u2013 and it\u2019s infinitely easier than spelling the word!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Liquefy is so tricky because it doesn\u2019t follow the rule of many other words ending with the same sound. Whether you aim to \u201cpacify\u201d, \u201cspecify\u201d or \u201cclarify\u201d \u2013 you\u2019ll be doing so with an \u201c-ify\u201d suffix \u2013 but not so with liquefy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To make matters worse, the route word that liquefy comes from \u2013 liquid \u2013 seems to be perfectly set up for an -ify\u201d ending! Just knock off the final \u201cd\u201d and add \u201cfy\u201d \u2013 right? Unfortunately not \u2013 this is one of those rare words that just doesn\u2019t follow the common rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ah, a playwright, someone who writes plays? That couldn\u2019t be easier \u2013 just combine the two key words of their job description and you get \u2013 playwrite. Oh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, the apparent logic here is misleading. The \u201cwright\u201d in \u201cplaywright\u201d doesn\u2019t have anything to do with writing \u2013 it\u2019s actually to do with \u201ccreating\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When something is created, it\u2019s considered to be \u201cwrought\u201d. You might have heard the term when people talk about \u201cwrought iron\u201d \u2013 this is iron that\u2019s been worked into a shape. This would be carried out by a \u201cwright\u201d \u2013 someone skilled in that area. You might have also found shipwrights and sword wrights too. Back in the 17th<\/sup> Century, the people who created plays were considered to have \u201cwrought\u201d them \u2013 fashioning them into something entertaining. As such, their job role is spelled \u201cplaywright\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To continue our \u201clogic doesn\u2019t apply here\u201d theme, it\u2019s worth considering what our brains do when we try to spell minuscule. If something is minusule it\u2019s very small \u2013 and the word is pronounced \u201cminis-cule\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With this in mind, our brains will almost always jump to the word \u201cmini\u201d (meaning small) \u2013 but this will lead to an incorrect spelling. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, we need our math heads on. \u201cMinus\u201d is the Latin word for \u201cless\u201d \u2013 so it\u2019s useful to think of a minuscule object as \u201clesser in size\u201d rather than \u201cmini\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If an action is considered \u201csacrilegious\u201d it means it is disrespectful to something religious. With that in mind, you might think the word is spelled \u201csacreligious\u201d \u2013 but, despite looking like the obvious link, \u201csacrilegious\u201d and \u201creligious\u201d aren\u2019t connected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To find logic in the actual Latin break down of the word. \u201cSacri-\u201d means \u201csacred\u201d and the \u201cleg\u201d part actually related to \u201clegere\u201d meaning \u201cto steal\u201d. So, the actual meaning of the word is more like \u201cstealing the sacredness\u201d of something meaningful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Got a local neighbourhood kid who\u2019s always getting up to mischief? More often than not, we\u2019d pronounce the description of that child as \u201cmis-CHEE-vee-ous\u201d \u2013 especially in the UK and certain U.S. states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem is, this is a mispronunciation of the word. It\u2019s actually intended to sound like \u201cMISS-chi-vous\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The trouble comes when we think logically about how to write down the sound of \u201cee\u201d \u2013 as it\u2019s commonly written as \u201cie\u201d \u2013 think \u201cachieve\u201d as an example. This leads to us breaking the word into four syllables \u2013 where the actual word only has three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It might not be a word you use very often \u2013 but the infrequency of onomatopoeia probably just adds to the confusion when you do want to write it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Onomatopoeia refers to a word that sounds like the noise it represents. \u201cBang\u201d, \u201cwoof\u201d, \u201ccrack\u201d, and \u201csnap\u201d are some examples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem with onomatopoeia is the \u201c-poeia\u201d suffix. In reality, you\u2019re probably only pronouncing three of those letters \u2013 \u201c-pia\u201d \u2013 but the others are along for the ride, thanks mostly to the word\u2019s complex Ancient Greek origin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You might have learned a not-so-helpful rhyme in school about the placement of \u201ci\u201d and \u201ce\u201d in different words \u2013 \u201cI before E except after C\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The good thing about this little rhyme is that it\u2019s easy to remember. The bad thing about this rhyme is that it\u2019s often just plain wrong. Not so useful now, eh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the many (and there are many<\/strong>) instances where this rhyme doesn\u2019t check out is in the word \u201cweird\u201d. We tend to think that a \u201cee\u201d sound is made using \u201cie\u201d \u2013 but it isn\u2019t always the case. Ditch the rules and just remember that \u201cweird\u201d is indeed weird, and needs the \u201ce\u201d before the \u201ci\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re talking about how you might \u201cpronounce\u201d a word, you\u2019re almost certainly going to be talking about \u201cpronounciation\u201d right? Well, actually, no \u2013 you\u2019re wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem with some words is the fact that the sounds we use to make them change as they change in form. So, while \u201cpronounce\u201d sounds like \u2018pro-NOUN-se\u2019, \u201cpronunciation\u201d sounds like \u2018pro-NUN-see-A-schon\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, some words just follow their own rules \u2013 so memory becomes a big part of spelling tricky words!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The English language is exceptionally difficult to learn. Part of the reason relates to how words are put together \u2013 often using \u2018silent\u2019 letters that don\u2019t seem to appear when the word is spoken. Here, we\u2019ve put together a list of the trickiest words to spell in common English \u2013 and an explanation of why… <\/p>\nMinuscule<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sacrilegious<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Mischievous<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Onomatopoeia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Weird<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Pronunciation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n