Are there Words that you always tend to Misspell?

@kamran12 (5526)
Pakistan
February 14, 2008 9:56pm CST
I am a non-native English writer. While I have written articles, research papers and such, I always seem to misspell few words. Like, whenever I type ‘understandable’ it is almost always ‘understandbale’ at first, LOL! It’s funny actually because whenever I write, I have to see if I have used this and some other words that I seem to always misspell, and edit them before submitting my response. What about you? Are there any words that you always have problem with spelling right?
9 people like this
19 responses
@novataylor (6570)
• United States
17 Feb 08
English is my native language and I'm actually quite a good speller, always have been. It's the typos I have a problem with. I type too fast and sometimes, I get ahead of myself, or my fingers get ahead of themselves, or something... I tend to transpose letters a lot, so I do a lot of backspacing and correcting. I know there's another way to correct my mistakes, but I seem to find myself doing it the hard way. I seem to do many things the hard way, though. I have yet to figure out why that is. Kamran, the way you write is so lovely, and I find myself so thoroughly charmed by you and it, I could forgive a multitude of errors that you might make, although you don't make many, at least that I can find. I just want you to keep writing, errors be damned.
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
17 Feb 08
You ARE a good speller, novataylor, and typos are a real problem for many as mind does work faster than hands. 'Transpose' is probably a new entry in my vocabulary, thanks!:-) I do, myself, transpose letters and if I don't edit my writing, I would be embarrassing myself a lot!:-) You are a delight novataylor, quite generous with your kind words!:-)
2 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
18 Feb 08
Actually I only knew 'transpose' from mathematical point of view as one uses in matrix operations but probably not the usage in which you used it. Thus, an addition, a worthy one at that! :-) Transversion! I knew that too but only in dental terminology, LOL! Thanks again :-)
2 people like this
• United States
18 Feb 08
Thank you very much, Kamran. You happen to be quite a delight to me. I love words, always have, and I'm so happy to have given you one to use and try on for size here. It's a good one, and it fits in many situations. My friend said, the other day, that someone they knew had suffered an anal/cranial transversion. That's another good one for you. :)
2 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
16 Feb 08
There are so many. It's a shame actually but one of them is Philippines.. I always get confused which letter is doubled whether L or P. Anyway, response is one. I almost always spell it responce. It's good Firefox has a spell checker.
3 people like this
@Jemina (5770)
13 Mar 08
Thank you for making me feel better. I spelled it right because of Mozilla spell checker. LOL!
1 person likes this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
13 Mar 08
You are very intelligent, Jemina, of course in your decision to use Mozilla Firefox!:-)
2 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
16 Feb 08
Hello Jemina, Don’t worry Jemina, you aren’t alone in misspelling :-). I think you got ‘Philippines’ right. Yes, it does help to have Firefox or some sort of toolbar with spell check! Thanks for sharing, Jemina!:-)
3 people like this
@raijin (10345)
• Philippines
15 Feb 08
I think it's unavoidable, especially when we're writing using a keyboard and typing. The Firefox I'm using right now has a spell-check, thankful that I can now find my faults and typos before submitting my own post here. The same thing goes whenever I go write something else, I have to proofread it and check twice just to make sure that I didn't missed something.. The word that bothers me from time to time is, "Good luck" as I always type it as Good lcuk. =(
@raijin (10345)
• Philippines
16 Feb 08
I think they do, but sometimes an omitted letter from a word can also be read as a legit one though they are definitely not appropriate for that sentence. Take for example the word THINK, if you missed or omitted putting the word "k" in it then it would be read by spell check as "thin" which is also another word..
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Hello raijin, Yes, it does seem to be unavoidable for different reasons, as people have kindly shared here. Firefox is certainly great in that respect. Misplacement of letter is common for me too, like in ‘lcuk’, especially when I am speed typing. “to make sure that I didn't missed something..” Does Firefox correct all the writing errors!? Don’t take it serious though :-) Thanks for sharing, raijin!:-)
2 people like this
• United States
15 Feb 08
Oh yes ...I spell their "thier", until "untill" anything ending in ian comes out ain or vice versa, as in Christian, and mountain . There are many more but those are my consistent mistakes. I actually think you have the English written word down pat. Your grammar is implacable. I tend to type as I talk and think. I run on sentences, and only place commas when I breath LMAO. I sure don't remember a rule in any English class that I took that says that is proper.
3 people like this
• United States
16 Feb 08
Rotflmao Well Kamran there was a big brain fart.... I bet you were scratching your head wondering if I was sending you some kind of mysterious message :))) Sugar the word I meant was impeccable:)))) LMAO impeccable. Big difference. LMAO I am sorry :))
1 person likes this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
16 Feb 08
LOL, no need to be sorry, Angel! No mysterious message though, I did scratch my head and maybe deracinated a couple of hairs too but then I just thought that you are being creative by giving a practical demonstration of what we are discussing in this thread!:-)
2 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Hello Angelwhispers, I do the same mistakes especially when I am speed typing. Sometimes, I even replace ‘their’ with ‘there’ and vice versa LOL! I don’t know in what category this mistake falls, any idea? Thank you for your kind words of appreciation, Angel, but did you really mean ‘implacable’!? “I tend to type as I talk and think.” When I do this, it surely means that there is going to be a heavy editing by the time I am done with the writing, and it happens, really, LOL!
2 people like this
@cdparazo (5765)
• Philippines
15 Feb 08
English is also my second language and i misspell a lot of words a lot of times even the simple and used often words such as 'their' and other words such as occasion, believe, receive, accommodation & disapointment, just to mention a few. So I make it habit to spell check those reports and messages before I send them out.
3 people like this
@cdparazo (5765)
• Philippines
16 Feb 08
I do that too. Thanks for the compliment by the way. As to spell checking, i used the spelling found in the tools drop down menu of msword. So i don't really speck check manually.
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
16 Feb 08
You are welcome! I too normally use word.
2 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Your English writing is much better than mine at least, cdparazo!:-) I do those mistakes too, especially with ‘their’; I sometimes even replace ‘their’ with ‘there’ and vice versa. LOL! Do you spell check manually or through a programe? Thanks anyway for sharing, cdparazo!:-)
3 people like this
• Australia
15 Feb 08
Heck yeah, such as retard ( I sometimes spell this as retart), couch (Sometimes I spell this as counch),and definately (sometimes I spell this as definitely). That's why I love spell check, it's the best invention :-P.
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Hello SassyKittyKat, Welcome to mylot, I hope it will be an enjoyable experience for you!:-) Spell checks are great. I would think that sometimes spelling errors happen because we aren’t thinking and typing the same thing or our minds and hands are not synchronized. The problem with definately and definitely is probably about what version of English you are using, as definitely is definately not a wrong word!:-)
2 people like this
• Australia
16 Feb 08
Thanks for the welcome! A lot of times I am rushing when I'm writing, to catch up with my thoughts LOL. This is the reason that most often I misspell a word. Other times, I write it as I think it sounds. As for definitely not being wrong, I didn't know that. That's interesting!
1 person likes this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
16 Feb 08
Rush does seem to make us misspell, SassyKittyKat! And I definitely had to lookup for “Definately”, it appears that “definately” is a ‘wrong’ variant for the correct word “definitely” but that it is in common usage nowadays. So, I was wrong about it too that it was because of language difference, it wasn’t. ‘Definitely’ is definitely the right spelling for ‘definitely’, LOL! Interesting, isn’t it?
2 people like this
@maxsee212 (799)
• United States
15 Feb 08
the most common words that i tend to misspell are words that have two similar letters consecutively. i hate this kinds of words because i can't really tell if i would put two or one letter only. one example of this is the word Mississippi. i don't know if i spelled that correctly, but i know that i tried my best to spell it. what matter is when you can't spell or you not sure what the spelling of words that you don't know, just open up a microsoft word and type it there. word will do the job and spell check it for you.
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Hello maxsee212, Words with two similar consecutive letters do cause confusion often times to me too. You spelled ‘Mississippi’ right, so you aren’t that bad even in that area!:-) I do exactly the same thing. Usually I either type in word and then copy paste it here or if I write here and I feel that there could be lot of errors, I copy paste it into word, check the spellings and then re-paste the text back here. Other option is to use toolbars or Firefox as some people use. Thank you for sharing and for your advice, maxee212!:-)
2 people like this
@subha12 (18441)
• India
15 Feb 08
hmm.. i also do with some words. but at this moment i can't remember all.it was the case with most of us as i think.some words that we misspell most of the time.its in our subconscious mind.i think i also still write some .
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Hello subha12, I didn’t remember all the words that I misspell either and as the people shared, it reminded me of those words. You are right about subconscious thing as somehow we are stuck with them, LOL! Thanks for sharing!:-) As an aside, if you don’t mind, what do 12 signify in your screen name? By your name, I figured that you are from sub-continent and as I checked your profile, I wasn’t wrong!:-)
2 people like this
• United States
7 Mar 08
Oh yes! hehe. there is one word that I think stumps a lot of people quite often. It is so agrrivating whenever I need to use it, sometimes I just give up trying to spell it and find a new word to replace it! lol. The word I am talking about is OF COURSE Pscyo....or is it physco? Pshyco? I don't know, I give up! It's...crazy! Deranged! lol
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
7 Mar 08
Hehe, I can see, that can be confusing, LilyoftheThorns!:-) I think you have confused me too, LOL! now I'll have to see dictionary!:-)
2 people like this
@nanayangel (7879)
• Philippines
15 Feb 08
Hi there kamran12! English is not my native tongue either. I am from the Philippines and my native tongue is "Tagalog". Up to now I'm not so sure how to spell the word farenheit. That word is really memorable to me because I lost in a spelling bee when I was in high school when we were asked to spell that word. Other than that, I usually make typos.
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Hello nanayangel, I too tend to misspell words whose sound doesn’t particularly match the spellings and usually these are foreign names in English like Fahrenheit, Einstein (both German) etc. There are words that one feels stuck over, I feel it’s not that abnormal!:-) Thanks for sharing, nanayangel!:-) By the way, what does your screen name means, if you don’t mind sharing? I am asking because your screen name is transliteration of ‘little angels’ in my native language.
2 people like this
@youless (112113)
• Guangzhou, China
21 Feb 08
I am surprised that you native language isn't English, because your English is pretty good. I am a Chinese, so English isn't my mother language. Sometimes I will have a misspell. Sometimes I will look up the dictionary to make sure my spelling is correct. Now I use Firefox and it can automatically check my spelling.
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
24 Feb 08
Hello youless!:-) Sorry for responding late as I was offline for 3,4 days. Thank you for your appreciation, you have very good language skills and you don't seem to be a non-native either. Firefox or other toolbars do seem to be very helpful! Thank you for sharing!:-)
2 people like this
@lilybug (21107)
• United States
15 Feb 08
There are a lot of words I type wrong the first time I type them. Not because I cannot spell them, but because when I am typing my left hand types faster than my right hand. Which is strange because I am right handed. I often spell "of" fo and "the" hte. Those are the ones I spell wrong most often because I type them the most. Oh, and "because" usually ends up spelled becasue.
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Hello lilybug, There are lot of strange things that happen in life:-), the type of misspelling that you make are surely not conscious but because of speed differentials, it happens to me too. Misplacement of letters is common in speed typing. Thanks for sharing!:-)
2 people like this
• Canada
15 Feb 08
I'm a very good speller but I have a few common words which I can never get right. I think it has become a habit now to misspell them. Thank goodness for spell check!! Some words I have issues with (in their mistaken form) : thier definetly honor (canadian & US spelling confuses me too) favorite
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
15 Feb 08
Hello babeebrwn, Welcome to mylot, I hope you will enjoy your time and stay here!:-) Spell check is great, isn’t it? I too misspell all the words listed by you and yes I too get confused by different spellings in England’s and American English. And, honestly, if I am recalling correctly, I did use different spellings for ‘honor’ and some other words in my posts here depending upon if I am in English writing mind or American! LOL! It’s strange but true!:-) Thanks for sharing, babeebrwn!:-)
2 people like this
@jwsnoopy (74)
• China
22 Feb 08
My job responsibility is to test webcams' driver and application , I am a software tester , this means that I must be more and more careful and circumspective to do with all things. Also I am a guy whom pursue 'Perfect' I think . So this is not a problem for me
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
24 Feb 08
Hello jwsnoopy! Welcome to mylot! I hope you will enjoy your stay here!:-) You have a good point with regards to 'attitudes' developed by our professional responsibilities. And, of course, it is difficult for a perfectionist to tolerate mistakes. Thanks for sharing with us!:-)
2 people like this
@lkbooi (16070)
• Malaysia
26 Mar 08
For me, English could be said as my third language. Other than weak in constructing good sentences I am also poor in my spelling. I always type words with wrong spelling for many words like psychology and physical. I always mixed up psy with phy or vice versa. Luckily there is spelling checker to point out the mistakes so that I could make correction accordingly
2 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
27 Mar 08
Hello lkbooi!:-) I have seen some of your writings and I find them very good in construction. I really didn't know or feel that English was your third language. And, I too struggle with English language skills along with other languages that are not my own country's languages. You are right; spelling checker solves a lot of problems. Thanks for sharing!:-)
1 person likes this
• United States
17 Feb 08
My first language is English And I still misspell words all the time. Thank G-d for spell check.
2 people like this
• United States
17 Feb 08
You have learned from me? Wow . I am glad I could help.
2 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
24 Feb 08
You are always helpful, sarah!:-)
3 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
17 Feb 08
I haven't seen notable errors in your writings, sarahruthbeth22! The ones, I did see were more like typos than misspelling! I have even learnt some words from you, sarah!:-) Thanks for sharing!:-)
3 people like this
• Philippines
18 Feb 08
I don't have problems with my spelling.
2 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
20 Feb 08
Hello kat_princess! It's good to know that there is someone who doesn't have problems with spellings. You must be a gifted person. Thanks for sharing!:-)
2 people like this
@nanayangel (7879)
• Philippines
15 Feb 08
Hi there kamran12! English is not my native tongue either. I am from the Philippines and my native tongue is "Tagalog". Up to now I'm not so sure how to spell the word farenheit. That word is really memorable to me because I lost in a spelling bee when I was in high school when we were asked to spell that word. Other than that, I usually make typos.
1 person likes this
@bellaofchaos (11538)
• United States
16 Feb 08
For some reason my brain works faster than my fingers can keep up with so I have this problem that I always for some ungodly reason spell again wrong. I have been really careful as of late when I have been spelling so that I stop it, but it drives my one friend insane when she see that I spelled again like this.(agian) LOL!!She always has to correct it. LOL!! Have a nice one.
2 people like this
@kamran12 (5526)
• Pakistan
16 Feb 08
Well, brain works on electronic signals and hands type mechanically, so there have to be a speed differential which certainly causes us to misspell, and you are not alone, bellaofchaos!:-) Letter misplacement is also very common in speed typing but it’s always good to have someone correct us, isn’t it!? Thanks for sharing what drives your friend insane!:-)
2 people like this
• United States
18 Feb 08
I completely agree with you . thank for the discussion.
2 people like this