This spelling quiz lines up ten of the English words people misspell most often, each paired with three convincing fakes. Pick the correct US spelling from four options that all look a little bit right. Every answer comes with a quick memory trick, so even a wrong guess leaves you better armed for your next email, school report or game of Scrabble.
English spelling has a reputation for breaking its own rules, and there are good reasons for it. The language has borrowed words from Latin, French, Greek, Dutch, Norse and many others, and it often kept the spelling habits of each source. Pronunciation also kept shifting long after printers in the 1400s and 1500s began locking spellings in place. The result is a written language where the same sound can be spelled several ways and silent letters hang around for centuries.
American spelling took its own path thanks largely to Noah Webster, whose American Dictionary of the English Language appeared in 1828. He championed simpler forms such as color, center and traveler, which is why US and British spellings still differ today. When you write for an American audience, those are the versions to use.
The best tools for tricky words are memory hooks. Break a long word into chunks you already know, look for a smaller word hiding inside it, or invent a silly phrase built from its letters. It also helps to say the word slowly, exactly as it's spelled, even if that's not how anyone pronounces it. Doubled letters cause the most trouble, so pay special attention to them.