Commonly confused words list
78 pairs that spell-checkers let through, each with the difference in one line. Open any pair for examples, a memory trick and practice.
The 20 most commonly confused words, with examples
Ranked by how often people search for each pair. One correct sentence per word.
- affect / effectaffect Lack of sleep affects your memory.effect Lack of sleep has a clear effect on memory.
- advice / adviseadvice My tutor gave me good advice.advise My tutor advised me to start early.
- its / it'sits The cat licked its paw.it's It's been raining all week.
- then / thanthen We ate, then we went for a walk.than This route is faster than the highway.
- whose / who'swhose Whose laptop is this?who's Who's coming to dinner?
- gray / greygray The sky turned gray before the storm.grey She wore a grey wool coat.
- principal / principleprincipal The principal reason for the delay was cost.principle She refused on principle.
- regardless / irregardlessregardless We will go regardless of the weather.irregardless (Use "regardless" in any writing that matters.)
- who / whomwho Who wrote this?whom To whom should I address the letter?
- loose / loseloose This screw is loose.lose Don't lose your ticket.
- farther / furtherfarther The station is farther than it looks.further Let's discuss this further.
- everyday / every dayeveryday These are my everyday shoes.every day I run every day.
- breath / breathebreath Take a deep breath.breathe Breathe in slowly.
- choose / chosechoose You can choose any seat.chose Yesterday I chose the window seat.
- complement / complimentcomplement The sauce complements the fish.compliment He complimented my essay.
- awhile / a whileawhile Stay awhile and rest.a while I waited for a while.
- capital / capitolcapital Paris is the capital of France.capitol Protesters gathered on the Capitol steps.
- ensure / insureensure Please ensure the door is locked.insure We insured the car against theft.
- which / thatwhich My car, which is blue, needs new tyres.that The car that is blue needs new tyres.
- canceled / cancelledcanceled The flight was canceled.cancelled The match was cancelled because of rain.
All 78 pairs
| Words | The difference |
|---|---|
| affect vs effect | Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence; effect is usually a noun meaning the result. |
| advice vs advise | Advice is the noun (the suggestion you get); advise is the verb (the act of giving it). |
| its vs it's | "It's" always means "it is" or "it has"; "its" is the possessive, like "his" or "her". |
| then vs than | Than compares things; then is about time or sequence (next, after that, in that case). |
| whose vs who's | "Who's" means "who is" or "who has"; "whose" asks or tells who something belongs to. |
| gray vs grey | Gray and grey are the same colour. Gray is the usual American spelling; grey is the usual British (and Canadian, Australian) spelling. |
| principal vs principle | A principle is a rule or belief; principal means main, or the head of a school, or a loan's original sum. |
| regardless vs irregardless | Regardless is the standard word. Irregardless is a real, dictionary-listed word, but it is nonstandard and marks writing as careless. |
| who vs whom | Who is a subject (does the action); whom is an object (receives the action or follows a preposition). |
| loose vs lose | Lose (one o) means to misplace or fail to win; loose (two o's) means not tight. |
| farther vs further | Farther is for physical distance; further is for figurative distance, degree or "additional". |
| everyday vs every day | Everyday (one word) is an adjective meaning ordinary; every day (two words) means each day. |
| breath vs breathe | Breath is the noun (the air); breathe is the verb (the action). The e on the end adds a verb and a longer vowel sound. |
| choose vs chose | Choose is the present tense (rhymes with "news"); chose is the past tense (rhymes with "nose"). |
| complement vs compliment | A compliment is praise; a complement completes or goes well with something. |
| awhile vs a while | Awhile is an adverb meaning "for a while". A while is a noun phrase (a period of time) and is the form you need after a preposition. |
| capital vs capitol | Capitol with an o is only the building where a legislature meets; capital covers everything else. |
| ensure vs insure | Ensure means to make certain; insure means to protect with an insurance policy. |
| which vs that | In American usage, that introduces information the sentence needs; which (after a comma) adds extra information you could remove. |
| canceled vs cancelled | Canceled (one l) is the usual American spelling; cancelled (two l's) is the British spelling. Both mean the same. |
| into vs in to | Into is one preposition showing movement inside or a change of state. In to is two words when "in" belongs to the verb (turn in, log in, give in) and "to" starts the next part. |
| your vs you're | "You're" means "you are"; "your" shows that something belongs to you. |
| lead vs led | Led is the past tense of the verb lead. Lead (rhymes with "bed") is also the metal, which is why people misspell the past tense. |
| emigrate vs immigrate | You emigrate from a country (you exit) and immigrate to a country (you come in). Same move, different viewpoint. |
| apart vs a part | Apart means separated or in pieces. A part means one piece of a whole. Mixing them flips the meaning. |
| lay vs lie | Lay takes an object (you lay something down); lie does not (you lie down). The past tense of lie is lay, which causes the confusion. |
| passed vs past | Passed is the past tense of the verb pass; past is a noun, adjective, preposition or adverb about time or position. |
| stationary vs stationery | Stationary means not moving; stationery is writing paper, envelopes and pens. |
| dependent vs dependant | Dependent is the adjective everywhere. As a noun (a person who relies on you), American English uses dependent and British English uses dependant. |
| affective vs effective | Effective means it works; affective is a technical word meaning relating to emotions or moods. |
| toward vs towards | Toward and towards mean the same thing. Toward is preferred in American English; towards in British English. |
| discreet vs discrete | Discreet means careful and tactful; discrete means separate and distinct. |
| onto vs on to | Onto is one preposition meaning to a position on top of. On to is two words when "on" belongs to the verb (move on, hold on, pass on). |
| counsel vs council | A council is a group of people who govern or advise; counsel is advice, or a lawyer, or the act of advising. |
| aid vs aide | Aid means help (as a noun or verb). An aide is a person, an assistant. |
| may vs might | Both express possibility; might usually suggests a slightly smaller chance, and might is the past form in reported speech. |
| were vs where vs we're | Were is the past tense of "are"; where asks or tells about a place; we're means "we are". |
| fewer vs less | Use fewer for things you can count one by one; use less for amounts you measure. |
| whether vs weather | Weather is rain, sun and wind; whether introduces a choice or possibility (if … or not). |
| adapt vs adopt | Adapt means to adjust or change something to fit. Adopt means to take something (a child, a pet, a plan) as your own. |
| i.e. vs e.g. | E.g. introduces examples (for example); i.e. introduces a restatement or clarification (that is). |
| peak vs peek vs pique | A peak is a top point; a peek is a quick look; to pique is to stir up interest or irritation. |
| desert vs dessert | Dessert (two s's) is the sweet course; desert is a dry region, or a verb meaning to abandon. |
| conscience vs conscious | Your conscience (noun) is your sense of right and wrong. Conscious (adjective) means awake or aware. |
| sometime vs some time vs sometimes | Sometime means at an unspecified time; some time means a period of time; sometimes means occasionally. |
| anyway vs anyways | Anyway is the standard form in writing; anyways is informal speech and reads as a mistake in formal text. |
| brake vs break | A brake stops a vehicle (and to brake is to slow down); break means to shatter, or a pause. |
| accept vs except | Accept is a verb meaning to receive or agree; except means excluding. |
| all right vs alright | All right is the standard spelling. Alright is common in informal writing, but most style guides treat it as nonstandard. |
| a lot vs alot | "A lot" is always two words. "Alot" is a misspelling; "allot" is a different verb meaning to share out. |
| to vs too vs two | Two is the number 2; too means also or excessively; to is the preposition and the marker before a verb. |
| all together vs altogether | Altogether means completely or in total; all together means everyone or everything in one place or at once. |
| their vs there vs they're | Their shows ownership, there points to a place (or starts "there is"), and they're means "they are". |
| I vs me | I is the subject (does the action); me is the object (receives it or follows a preposition). |
| moral vs morale | Moral is about right and wrong (or the lesson of a story); morale is the confidence or spirit of a group. |
| elicit vs illicit | Elicit is a verb meaning to draw out a response; illicit is an adjective meaning illegal or forbidden. |
| bare vs bear | Bare means uncovered or basic (and to bare is to reveal); bear is the animal, or a verb meaning to carry or tolerate. |
| wander vs wonder | Wander means to walk around without a set route; wonder means to be curious, or a marvel. |
| role vs roll | A role is a part or function someone plays; roll means to turn over and over, or bread, or a list of names. |
| quiet vs quite | Quiet means with little noise; quite means fairly or completely. They are mostly typos of each other. |
| amount vs number | Use number for countable things and amount for uncountable masses; the same split as fewer / less. |
| each other vs one another | Traditional advice uses each other for two people and one another for more than two. Modern usage treats them as interchangeable. |
| maybe vs may be | Maybe (one word) is an adverb meaning perhaps. May be (two words) is a verb phrase meaning might be. |
| wary vs weary | Wary means cautious or suspicious; weary means tired. |
| who vs that | Use who for people and that for things. That for people is grammatical but who reads as more natural and respectful. |
| cite vs site vs sight | Cite means to quote or reference a source; a site is a place or website; sight is vision or something seen. |
| among vs between | Between is for distinct, individual items (any number); among is for a group or mass seen as a whole. |
| personal vs personnel | Personal (adjective) means private or relating to a person; personnel (noun) means the staff of an organisation. |
| imply vs infer | The speaker implies (suggests without saying); the listener infers (works it out). |
| eminent vs imminent | Eminent means famous and respected; imminent means about to happen. |
| averse vs adverse | Averse describes a person's reluctance (averse to risk); adverse describes harmful conditions or effects (adverse weather). |
| rise vs raise | Raise takes an object (you raise something); rise does not (something rises on its own). |
| allude vs elude | Allude means to refer indirectly; elude means to escape or evade. |
| precede vs proceed | Precede means to come before; proceed means to go forward or continue. |
| sneaked vs snuck | Both are past tenses of sneak. Sneaked is the traditional form and the safe choice in formal writing; snuck is standard in everyday American English. |
| bring vs take | Bring means movement toward the speaker (here); take means movement away (there). |
| already vs all ready | Already means before now or so soon; all ready means completely prepared. |
| compose vs comprise | The whole comprises the parts; the parts compose the whole. Careful writers avoid "comprised of". |
About this list
What are commonly confused words?
Words that are easy to mix up because they sound alike (homophones like their/there/they're), look alike (loose/lose), or have related meanings (fewer/less, imply/infer). Spell-checkers miss most of them because both words are real.
Which confused words are looked up the most?
By search volume, affect vs effect is far ahead, followed by advice vs advise, its vs it's, then vs than, whose vs who's and principal vs principle. The list is sorted that way by default.
What are 20 commonly confused words?
By search demand the top 20 are: affect/effect, advice/advise, its/it's, then/than, whose/who's, gray/grey, principal/principle, regardless/irregardless, who/whom, loose/lose, farther/further, everyday/every day, breath/breathe, choose/chose, awhile/a while, complement/compliment, capital/capitol, canceled/cancelled, into/in to and ensure/insure. The table on this page gives an example sentence for each.
What are the 10 most commonly misused words?
The ten pairs people look up most are affect/effect, advice/advise, its/it's, then/than, whose/who's, gray/grey, principal/principle, irregardless, who/whom and loose/lose.
What is the difference between homophones and commonly confused words?
Homophones sound the same but differ in meaning or spelling (their/there/they're). Commonly confused words is the wider group: it also includes look-alikes (loose/lose), grammar choices (fewer/less, who/whom) and spelling variants (gray/grey).
How can I remember them?
Use one test per pair and practise it in real sentences. Contractions (it's, you're, they're, who's) all have the same test: expand them. Most other pairs have a memory hook on their page.