Revealed: The UK's most misspelled words - so, have you been writing them correctly?
Do you have impeccable spelling, or do you always end up turning to spell check?The answer may lie in how many of these words you can spell correctly.Experts from WordUnscrambler.pro have revealed the UK's most misspelled words – with a surprising term at the top of the list. According to their analysis, 'colour' is the word that Brits struggle with the most, followed by 'favourite'. 'Surprisingly most United Kingdom's misspelled word searched are not errors in spelling but alternative standard forms of British vs American English,' an expert from WordUnscrambler.pro explained. 'We found that many searches revolved around how to spell words in Ireland, Canada, America, UK and Australia. 'Words like colour, favourite, neighbour and behaviour reflect British English spellings while their American counterparts (color, favorite, neighbor, behavior) are also as correct.'So, have you been writing these words correctly? Scroll down for the full list! Do you have impeccable spelling, or do you always end up turning to spell check? The answer may lie in how many of these words you can spell correctlyFor the analysis, the team used search data collected from Google Trends for 'how do you spell' and 'how to spell', from 1 January – 17 December. The results revealed that 'colour' (109,200 searches) and 'favourite' (82,900 searches) top the list, with Brits seemingly confused between the UK and US spellings. 'Licence' had 59,000 searches, while 'diarrhoea' had 58,700 searches. Other words that had Brits turning to Google included 'jewellery' (56,400 searches), 'definitely' (53,00 searches), 'queue' (22,800 searches), and 'necessary' (23,000 searches). 'Several commonly searched words like business definitely and necessary are frequently misspelled because English spelling does not consistently match pronunciation,' the expert explained. 'Then there are tricky words like "queue" (contains silent letters and an unusual vowel pattern) and "weird" (breaks the common "i before e" rule).'Whether it's your phone or your computer, most devices now have an autocorrect tool installed. While this is handy, it is also playing havoc on our fundamental writing skills, according to WordUnscrambler.pro. According to their analysis, 'colour' is the word that Brits struggle with the most, followed by 'favourite' The most misspelled words in the UK Colour*Favourite* LicenseDiarrhoea* JewelleryDefinitelyAuntie* WeirdBusinessBehaviour*Neighbour*CountryQueueGorgeousNecessary*alternative spellings are correct in the US 'Availability of autocorrect in all devices results in misspelling common words,' their expert said. 'Studies suggest heavy reliance on autocorrect weakens spelling skills over time. 'Some researchers call it digital amnesia. We simply forget things that we delegate to technology. 'Misspellings might be on the rise not because we know less, but because we need to know less.'The study comes shortly after experts revealed the commonly mispronounced words that infuriate Brits. Two Irish names top the list – 'Niamh' (searched for 124,800 times in the UK this year), and Saoirse (109,200 searches). Meaning 'bright' or 'radiant,' Niamh is pronounced 'NEEV', while Saoirse – meaning 'freedom' – is pronounced 'SER–sha'. Next on the list is 'gyro' – a popular Greek dish, typically made with lamb, beef, or chicken. While many Brits pronounce this as 'GEE–roh' or 'JEE–roh', the correct pronunciation is actually 'YEE–roh'. 'Our research about the most searched for mispronunciations gives an interesting insight into United Kingdom's culture,' a spokesperson for Unscramblerer.com explained. 'Exposure to new words through media, music, pop culture and social platforms drives curiosity. 'People often look up pronunciations if there is a gap between how a word or name is spelled and how it sounds.'WHAT ARE THE RULES WHEN USING A HYPHEN IN ENGLISH? If you're struggling to decide whether or not a compound word needs a hyphen, there are four simple rules that work in 75 per cent of cases.The rules were developed by Christina Sanchez-Stockhammer, a linguistics professor at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, who studied more than 10,000 words, including hyphens, to find a common pattern.1 - If the word is a verb or an adjectiveIf the word you're writing is a verb (like to blow-dry), or an adjective (like world-famous), then it will almost always need a hyphen.2 - Nouns with two syllablesIf you're writing a noun with two syllables (like break-up, and set-to) the rule is simple – use a hyphen only when the second word has two letters.3 - If the second part of the word has more than two lettersWhen spelling a compound where the second part of the word has more than two letters, it should be spelt as a single word.In this instances (like coastline or bedroom) never use a hyphen.4 - Nouns with three or more syllablesThis is another easy one. If the noun has three or more syllables, it is always written out as two separate words.Examples here include bathing suit and washing machine.
