10 Common Misspelled Words by Children

ElevatEd
Blog
June 5, 2024

Common Misspelled Words Teaching spellings to children can be quite challenging. English being a tricky language with the origin of words in various languages, the pronunciations and spellings sometimes just don’t match. As such it gets difficult to teach children the correct spelling.

We could try to teach the young ones using mnemonic rules and phonetics. We could also teach them the fundamentals and talk about exceptions to rules. We can teach them etymology and increase their vocabulary by helping them to read books and dictionaries.

These few ways come in real handy while teaching your kids spellings, especially if they are preparing for any competition like the spell bee.

Most Misspelled words

Let us go through the 10 most misspelled words by children and how we can fix them.

Address

Usually, people write a single ‘d’ and forget about the other one. We have two ‘d’ and two ‘s’ here.

Sentence - Kindly deliver this package to the office address.

Accommodate

Usually, people miss out on the two double letters in this word. But it can accommodate both ‘c’ and ‘m’.

Sentence - We need to accommodate her for a few days until she finds a place to stay.

Disappointment

For this one, all you have to do is break the word into parts: 'dis', 'appoint', and 'ment'. There are no two ‘s’.

Sentence - It would be a disappointment to let this deal go.

Embarrassment

For this one, simply remember there are double letters for both the ‘r’ and the ‘s’.

Sentence - It is an embarrassment to the entire community.

Definitely

Usually, people get confused because of its pronunciation and use ‘a’ in place of ‘I’. We just have to remember the term definite to remember the spelling of definitely. Also, the fact that there is no ‘a’.

Sentence - These are definitely not the shoes she ordered.

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Rhythm

Usually, people get confused as there are no vowels due to its French and Greek origins. If you wish to recall the right spelling, ask yourself where did the vowels go or break it up as rhy-thm.

Sentence - The rhythm of rain falling consistently is my favorite.

Parallel

Usually, people forget about the double ‘l’ and write only one. This needs to be remembered. Para-ll-el. Quite simple huh?

Sentence - Her train was on the parallel track to ours.

Acquire

People often forget the ‘c’ due to the pronunciation. We can break it as ac-quire to remember it.

Sentence - I need to acquire more marks in the finals.

Chief

Usually, people write ‘ei’ in place of ‘ie’. We must remember the ‘i before e’ rule to remember this spelling.

Sentence - The chief decided on behalf of the entire village.

Coming

Though this is the simplest one, often people write ‘mm’ in place of a single one. The only way to learn its correct spelling is to pronounce it slowly using phonetics.

Sentence - She is coming via bus, not train.

So, these are some of the most common misspelled words and parents must teach their children the correct spellings of these as they are used a lot in our daily lives. These can come in lower grade competitions like spell bee or any other spelling contests. So, learn the trick as well as the correct spelling and ace the competitions like a pro.

FAQs (Frequently Answered Questions)

Q.1: How can I help my child with learning spellings?

Ans- While teaching spellings, one needs to be patient. Use the etymology of words and teach meanings too so that they stay with your child. Then we can also use phonetics and mnemonic rules to teach spellings. Consistency and regular practice are important.

Q.2: Where can I get word lists to teach my child spellings?

Ans- Apps and websites provide word lists that range from simple and common to complex and unique words. Books increase vocabulary considerably. 98thPercentile also has published blogs on the same. Check them out now.

Q.3: Why are easy words misspelled?

Ans- Sometimes if the concept is not clear or people are unknown to rules of phonetics and mnemonic rules then confusion might arise. Also, the difference in pronunciation plays a major role.

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