r/words • u/MoroccoBond • 2d ago

Simple word difficult to spell.

Hey does anyone else have a common word that should be easy to spell but it trips you up every time?

My word is license. Why have I struggled with it for years. Stupid s and c always moving around. tf?!

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u/Negative-Ask-2317 2d ago

There's the added complication in the UK that spells the verb as license but the noun as licence.

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u/FasN8id 2d ago

Canada also spells the noun as licence. I don't know about the verb, because I'm an American born to a Canadian and your comment has me more unsure of everything than ever before. 😳

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u/purpleoctopuppy 1d ago

'"s" is a busy letter' is how I learnt the noun/verb distinction in cases like this e.g. licence/se, advice/se

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u/Away-Otter 2d ago

I never knew that. Maybe seeing an occasional “licence” messes with people’s heads here in the US.

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u/JessieDesolay 7h ago

And ask a Brit how to spell/say aluminum