Home
A Word A Day
Main Index
Online Tutoring
Nursery Rhymes
Beauties of English
What is NEW?
Grammar
Intermediate Level
Advanced English
f.a.q
Tips
Plain English
Vocabulary
Etymology
Synonyms
Antonyms
TOEFL
GRE
GMAT
Your English Teacher
Business Letters
English Articles
Difficult Words
Social Letters
Successful Writing
Correct Usages
Short Stories
English Poems
English Songs
Famous Quotations
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise With Us

[?] Subscribe To This Site

XML RSS
Add to Google
Add to My Yahoo!
Add to My MSN
Subscribe with Bloglines

 

Differences Between
British Spelling & American Spelling



The main differences between American Spelling and British Spelling are given below:

• British English words that end in -re (e.g. centre, fibre, theatre) often end in -er in American English (center, fiber, theater).

• British English words that end in -our (e.g. colour, humour) usually end with -or in American English (color, humor).

• Verbs in British English that can be spelled with either -ize or -ise at the end (e.g. recognize/recognise) are always spelled with -ize in American English.

• Verbs in British English that end in -yse (e.g. analyse) are always spelled -yze in American English (analyze).

• In British spelling, verbs ending in a vowel plus l double the l when adding endings that begin with a vowel (e.g. travel, travelled, traveller). In American English the l is not doubled (travel, traveled, traveler).

• British English words that are spelled with the double vowels ae or oe (e.g. archaeology, manoeuvre) are just spelled with an e in American English (archeology, maneuver).

• Some nouns that end with -ence in British English (e.g. licence, defence) are spelled -ense in American English (license, defense).

• Some nouns that end with -ogue in British English (e.g. dialogue) end with -og in American English (dialog).

Commonly Confused Words : (American / British)

Jumper / Pinafore Dress
Sweater / Jumper
Rubber / Condom
Eraser / Rubber
Pants / Trousers
Panties / Pants
Chips / Crisps
French Fries / Chips


Different Words for The Same Thing: (American / British)

Cart / Trolley
Diaper / Nappy
Eggplant / Aubergine
Fall / Autumn
Line / Queue
Scallion / Spring onion
Snow peas / Mange tout
Trunk / Boot
Vacation / Holiday
Zucchini / Courgette




For the complete list of words with the spelling variations between American Spelling and British Spelling,

Click Here!



For detailed differences between American Spelling and British Spelling,

Click Here!



For another list of detailed differences between American English and British English,

Click Here!





From British Spelling to HOME PAGE








footer for British Spelling page