Differences Between American and British Spelling
When you’re writing, it’s helpful to know where your client is from so that you can follow their preferred spelling. American spelling in used in the US, British spelling in used in other English speaking countries, and both versions are common in Canada. If your spell checker is set on American English it will generally not recognize British spellings, and vice versa.
-Or/-Our
Words that are spelled -or in American English are spelled -our in British English.
favorite favourite
honor honour
color colour
-Er/-Re
Words that end in -er in American English end in -re in British English.
theater theatre
center centre
liter litre
-Ize/-Ise
Words that are spelled -ize in American English are spelled -ise in British English.
pluralize pluralise
democratize democratise
civilization civilisation
-Yze/-Yse
Similarly, words that end in -yze in American English end in -yse in British English.
analyze analyse
paralyze paralyse
catalyze catalyse
-Ense/-Ence
Words that end in -ense in American English end in -ence in British English.
defense defence
license licence
pretense pretence
-Og/-Ogue
In American spelling, words can end in -og or -ogue. In British spelling they always end in -ogue.
catalog catalogue
analog analogue
epilog epilogue
-L/-Ll
Verbs that end in a vowel + -l do not double the “l” when adding suffixes in American English. The “l” is doubled in British English.
traveled travelled
pedaled pedalled
canceled cancelled
-Ed/-T
The past tense of single syllable words is formed by adding -ed in American English. It is formed by adding -t in British English.
spelled spelt
learned learnt
dreamed dreamt
Single/Double Vowels
Some words that are spelled with a single vowel in American English use two vowels British English.
leukemia leukaemia
maneuver manoeuver
encyclopedia encyclopaedia
Completely Different Spellings
Some words are just spelled differently in American and British English:
airplane areoplane
check cheque
curb kerb
jail gaol
program programme
pyjamas pajamas
tire tyre
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