American VS British Versions of Spellings of English Words

When it comes to differences between American and British English, word spelling stands out. Many English words have distinct spellings in American and British English. Generally, American English favors simplicity and convenience in spelling, often omitting extra letters and opting for brevity.
 

american spelling vs british spelling of words
In this blog post, we'll explore key patterns and essential words highlighting the spelling differences between American and British English. This comprehensive guide provides an in-depth look at the distinctions, offering the most extensive resource available online for American vs. British spelling.

The words out of the parentheses are American versions, and the words inside are the British versions.
 

O vs. OU _ American English drops the "U".

  • color (colour) 
  • neighbor (neighbour)
  • honor (honour)
  • candor (candour)
  • demeanor (demeanour)
  • favor (favour)
  • labor (labour)
  • flavor (flavour)
  • mold (mould)
  • humor (humour)
  • savor (savour)
  • valor (valour)
  • favorite (favourite)
  • behavior (behaviour)
  • rumor (rumour)
  • splendor (splendour)
  • odor (odour)
  • tumor (tumour)
  • vigor, vigorous (vigour, vigourous)
glamour is used more than glamor in the United States.

Single L vs. Double LL - American English often uses single "L" in verbs.

  • traveling, traveled, traveler (travelling, travelled, traveller)
  • counseling, counseled, counselor (counselling, counselled, counsellor)
  • canceling, canceled, cancelation/cancellation (cancelling, cancelled, cancellation)
  • modeling, modeled (modelling, modelled)
  • disheveled (dishevelled)
"Controlled" is correct in both varieties.

Double LL consistency - American English retains double "L" in some cases.

  • appall (appal
  • fulfill (fulfil)
  • skillful (skilful)
  • distill (distil)
  • instill (instil)
  • enroll (enrol)
  • enrollment (enrolment)
 

IZE vs. ISE endings - American English favors "IZE".

  • realize (realise)
  • analyze (analyse)
  • criticize (criticise)
  • colonize (colonise))
 

Unique spellings - American and British versions have distinct spellings.

  • gray (grey)
  • tire (tyre)
  • curb (kerb)
  • pajamas (pyjamas)
  • artifact (artefact)
  • cozy (cosy)
  • skeptical (sceptical)
  • plow (plough)
  • aluminum (aluminium)
 

Medical terminology: AE vs. E - American English simplifies to "E".

  • esthetic (aesthetic)
  • anemia (anaemia)
  • anesthesia (anaesthesia)
  • gynecologist (gynaecologist)
  • pediatrician (paediatrician)
 

Medical Terminology - EA/E vs OE

  • diarrhea (diarrhoea)
  • estrogen (oestrogen)

ER vs. RE order _ American English prefers "ER".

  • center (centre)
  • meter (metre)
  • fiber (fibre)
  • liter (litre)
  • kilometer (kilometre)

Simplified endings - American English omits extras.

  • donuts (doughnuts)
  • check (cheque)
  • program (programme)
  • dialog (dialogue)
  • analog (analogue)
  • catalog (catalogue)
  • jewelry (jewellery)
  • sulfur (sulphur)
  • mustache (moustache)
  • aging (ageing)
  • airplane (aeroplane)
  • maneuver (manoeuver)

S vs. C - American English favors "S."

  • defense (defence)
  • license (licence)
  • practice (practise)
  • pretense (pretence)
  • offense (offence)

 

Subtle ones

  • judgment (judgement)
  • specialty (speciality)

 

Ed vs. T verb endings - Americans go by the book

  • burned (burnt)
  • dreamed (dreamt)
  • learned (learnt)


Support My Mission: This is a single-man venture. If you find value in the free English lectures and resources provided here, please consider making a donation to support my ongoing efforts. Your contribution helps me maintain and expand my content, ensuring I can continue offering quality education at no cost. Every donation, big or small, makes a significant difference and is deeply appreciated. Thank you for your support! You can google-pay me at +918848516911(When you do, add a note mentioning, "it is to support our English forum."

For registering for online and offline classes: https://maps.app.goo.gl/zHgPYU5WUaAXHYV68 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who Are OR Who Is?

Image
ESL people are sometimes at a loss about the correct SVA (Subject Verb Agreement) aspect of sentences with "who." There are two angles to look at this question from. 1. Where only "Who IS" right! Suppose you are walking into a room where a number of people are present. Would you use a singular verb or a plual verb in these sentences? Who is/are interested in Football? Who wants snacks? Who is eating pizza tonight? Even if you are asking this question to a group of people and sure that there will be more than one person as an answer, you are supposed to use A SINGULAR VERB. It is because we donot know the number of people beforehand. 2. Where only "Who ARE" right! However, there are instances where you need to use a plural verb. It is when you know the number of people in advance. In fact, here, you are not trying to count the people, but rather you want to know the names or something of those persons. Suppose you are going to a restaurant and see two peopl
Read more

Learn cooking and kitchen vocabulary in English | Learn English in contexts

Image
cooking and kitchen vocabulary in English This American English lesson has incorporated both kitchen vocabulary and cooking vocabulary because while you prepare a meal both scenarios work out at the same time. In this spoken English lesson, you will learn 200 cooking-time dialogues, cooking instructions, cooking verbs, cooking vocabulary, kitchen vocabulary, and kitchen verbs. Although the lesson has plenty of content, the best part is that there are only so many verbs and phrases we say in English while we cook in the kitchen. Once you have mastered them, you are all set for talking about cooking in English. A trick to master cooking and kitchen verbs; the majority of them are in the form of phrasal verbs. If you have a knack for choosing the correct preposition with a verb, you can make many more commands with the same verbs with the same verb maneuvering them for separate contexts. For example, the verb "cut" can be used with prepositions like "off, out, in". For
Read more

How To Read Years in English?

Image
Unlike reading digits, reading years in English can be a bit tricky since the natural way of reading dates can vary from decades to decades and century to century. This blog will cover everything you need to know about telling years in English. Reading years in English 1. Years before 999 For years before 999, read them just like numbers. in 999 CE - in nine hundred and ninety-nine CE in 900 CE - in nine hundred CE in 801 CE - in eight hundred and one CE in 71 CE - in seventy-one CE 2. Years from 1000 to 1999 Reading dates from 1000 to 1999 is rather difficult since varied ways are there. We need to sub-categorize them further for convenience. 1. Years ending in 00 Read them as hundreds. in 1800 - in eighteen hundred in 1100 - in eleven hundred 2. Years ending in 01, 02, 03, 04, to 09 Read the first digits in tens, read the zero as "oh" and read the last digit in 1901 - in nineteen oh one in 1105 - in eleven oh five in 1509 - in fifteen oh nine 3. Years with first and third d
Read more