Letters in the wrong order
Some of the most common spelling mistakes happen when the right letters are in the wrong order.
| Often muddled | Correct | Trick |
|---|---|---|
| freind | friend | a friend to the end |
| thier | their | the + ir: it’s the people’s |
| becuase | because | Big Elephants Can Always Understand Small Elephants |
| frist | first | first: like the fir tree |
| siad | said | some ants in dresses |
| peopel | people | peo-ple: say both parts |
| wierd | weird | weird is weird: it breaks the i before e rule! |
Muddles that make a different word
Swapping two letters can turn one real word into another, so a spell-checker won’t spot it:
| Word | Means | Word | Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| diary | a book you write in | dairy | milk, cheese, butter |
| quiet | not loud | quite | fairly, or completely |
| angel | a heavenly being | angle | a corner between two lines |
| from | where it started | form | a shape, or a sheet to fill in |
| trial | a test | trail | a path |
Watch out! Read your work slowly, one word at a time. Your brain often “reads” the word you meant, not the one you wrote.
Top tip: say tricky words aloud in syllables as you write them: fri-end, be-cause.
👆 Spot the right spelling
Tap every word that is spelt correctly.
🔎 Muddled letters1 of 5