Hard words to spell

The same shape as believe, and the two are worth practising on the same day.

Cue: If you can spell believe, you can spell achieve. Same four letters at the end.

Achieve with an ending bolted on, so the ie is still the part that decides it.

Cue: Spell achieve, then add ment. Nothing else changes.

The most practised word in this group, 692 children, and nearly a third still miss it.

Cue: Never believe a lie. The word lie is sitting inside it.

Rhymes with thief and is spelled the same way, which is worth showing side by side.

Cue: Chief and thief. One letter apart, same ie.

Science with con on the front, plus an sc that sounds like a single s.

Cue: Your conscience is your inner science. Same ending.

A long word where the ie sits in an unstressed middle nobody pronounces clearly.

Cue: Experience ends like science. Both i before e.

One of the most practised words on the site and a third still get it wrong the first time.

Cue: You yield in a field. They rhyme and they are spelled the same way.

The eigh saying a long a, the same as in eight and weigh.

Cue: Eight, weigh, freight, sleigh. All eigh.

Friend is the problem. The ie is not heard at all, so children write "frendly".

Cue: A friend is a friend to the end. The word end is inside it.

Rhymes with thief and chief and follows them exactly.

Cue: Thief, chief, grief. Three rhymes, one spelling.

Looks like it should rhyme with weight and be spelled like it, but the ei sounds nothing like the ei in eight.

Cue: Height and weight both carry eigh. Learn them as a pair.

Noisy loses its y and takes ier, which children do not expect.

Cue: Noisy, noisier, noisiest. The y turns into an i every time.

View carries the ie, and the pre in front hides it.

Cue: Preview is pre plus view. Spell view on its own first.

Two syllables that children run together into quite, which is a different word.

Cue: Qui-et has two beats. Quite has one. Say it in two and the i comes before the e.

The same ei after c, plus a silent p that nobody hears.

Cue: A receipt is what you get when you receive something. Same start, same ei.

The hardest word we measure. More than half of children write "recieve" the first time.

Cue: After a c, it is ei. Receive, receipt, ceiling, deceive.

An ei with no c in front, which breaks the rule children have just been taught, and it competes with there and they are.

Cue: Their has heir in it, and an heir owns something. Their means belonging to them.

No c in front, so it goes back to ie, and children who have just learned receive often overcorrect to "theif".

Cue: A thief lies. Both ie.

A w sitting in the middle that nobody says.

Cue: An answer to a question about a sword: both have a silent w.

Busy plus ness, but the word is said "bizness", so the middle syllable disappears.

Cue: Busy people do business. Start by spelling busy.

The same silent n ending, and the u is barely voiced.

Cue: Column, autumn, hymn. Three words, one silent n.

An h after the x that is never heard.

Cue: Exhaust and exhibit both hide an h after the x.

Almost everyone says "Feb-yoo-ary", so the first r vanishes before the child writes it down.

Cue: Say it wrong on purpose while you write: "Feb-ROO-ary". The r comes back.

A y doing a vowel job and an n on the end that is never sounded.

Cue: Hymn, column and autumn all end in a silent n. Learn the three together.

A silent k and a silent gh in a word with five sounded letters.

Cue: A knight rides at night. Take night and put a k on the front.

A silent k at the front and a d in the middle, where a child hears only "nollij".

Cue: You know things, so knowledge starts with know.

The only vowel sound is carried by a y, and there is an h after the r doing nothing at all.

Cue: Rhythm Helps Your Two Hips Move. One word per letter, in order.

The ci says "sh", which is a sound no child expects those two letters to make.

Cue: Suspicious, delicious, precious. When it ends "shus", it is usually cious.

Three syllables on paper, two in the mouth. The d and the first e are never spoken.

Cue: Wed, nes, day. Say the three pieces as you write the three pieces.

The h is silent for most speakers, and the word is the twin of weather.

Cue: Whether is about which one, and it starts like when, where and why.

A silent w at the front, the same as in write, wrong and wrist.

Cue: Write, wrong, wrist, wrinkle. If it is about twisting or writing, it starts wr.

A double c saying two different sounds, k and then a soft one.

Cue: Accomplish, accident, accept. All start acc.

The same double p, plus an oa that sounds like a long o.

Cue: Approach has a coach in it.

Ap plus propriate, so the p doubles at the join.

Cue: Appropriate, approach, approve. All app.

Automatic plus ly makes a double l, and the word is long enough that children drop the al.

Cue: Automatical plus ly. The al is already there before the ly.

Begin doubles its n before ing, which is the rule children forget most.

Cue: Begin ends in one n, but beginning needs two.

The double f is easy; the ence on the end is what goes wrong.

Cue: Difference ends like sentence and silence. Not ance.

The middle e is swallowed, so children write "diffrent".

Cue: Diff-er-ent. Three beats, three vowels.

The same dis plus appear, one s and two p.

Cue: Dis plus appear. Same rule as disappointed.

Dis plus appoint, so it is one s and two p, and children usually do the reverse.

Cue: Dis plus appoint. Keep the two words whole and the letters fall out right.

Dis plus approve. One s, two p, every time.

Cue: If the second word starts with a double, keep it. Dis + approve.

One s in the middle and two at the end, which is easy to reverse.

Cue: Dis plus cuss. The double s is only at the end.

Two doubles in one word, rr and ss, and getting one right does not help with the other.

Cue: Really Red Skin Shows. Two r, two s.

A double s, then tial saying "shul".

Cue: Essential, potential, confidential. All end tial.

Happen doubles its p, and then the ed is pronounced as a plain d.

Cue: Happy and happen both have two p.

A double m and then a long unstressed tail that children shorten to "immediatly".

Cue: Immediate plus ly. The e stays.

A double t and a le ending that sounds like "ul".

Cue: Little, middle, bottle, apple. The le ending is silent about its e.

One c and two s, which is the opposite of what most children guess.

Cue: One collar, two sleeves. One c, two s.

One r, then two l, then one l. Three decisions in one word.

Cue: The two l in the middle are the parallel lines.

Straw plus berry, and berry carries the double r.

Cue: Strawberry, blueberry, raspberry. The berry never changes.

Summary keeps its double m when it becomes summarize.

Cue: A summary you summarize. Two m in both.

Usual plus ly gives a double l, and the middle u is barely said.

Cue: Usual plus ly. Write the whole word usual first.

The quate ending is said "kwit", so the a vanishes.

Cue: Adequate has a quart in it, near enough. Look for the qu.

The last vowel is an a that sounds like nothing in particular.

Cue: An-i-mal. Three beats, and the last one is mal.

The middle i is unstressed and the cle ending sounds like "kul".

Cue: Art plus icle. There is art at the front.

Three e sounds in a row, none of them stressed.

Cue: Ben-e-fit. Three beats, all e except the last.

The last vowel is an a that sounds exactly like an e.

Cue: Calendar ends like dollar and collar. Look for the ar.

The ain ending is said "un", which points at no letters in particular.

Cue: Certain, mountain, curtain. All ain.

Two unstressed o sounds and an ant ending that sounds like ent.

Cue: A consonant is not a vowel, and it ends ant like relevant.

Three i sounds, all unstressed, and children reach for an a in the middle.

Cue: Definitely is finite with de on the front. No a anywhere.

The n in the middle is skipped in speech, so children write "enviroment".

Cue: Environment has iron in the middle.

A long word with an unstressed i in the middle that children drop.

Cue: Experi plus ment. It starts like experience.

The ure ending is said "yer", so the u goes missing.

Cue: Figure, nature, picture. All ure.

The middle e is swallowed, so it becomes "genral".

Cue: Gen-er-al. Three beats.

The final e sounds like nothing at all.

Cue: Inter plus pret. Inter is the same as in internet.

The el sound at the end can be spelled el, le or al, and this one is el.

Cue: Label, camel, travel. All el.

The ea says a short e, and the sure ending says "zher".

Cue: Measure, treasure, pleasure. All ea then sure.

The ard ending sounds like "erd".

Cue: Mustard, custard, standard. All ard.

The middle e is barely there and the word is used more in writing than in talk.

Cue: Number and numeral both start num.

Three e, all unstressed, in a word children meet in maths rather than in speech.

Cue: Peri means around. Perimeter goes around the edge.

Four vowels and not one of them is the e children expect in the middle.

Cue: Privilege is a vile word: p-r-i-v-i-l-e-g-e. Two i before the e.

The le ending sounds like "ul" and could easily be al or el.

Cue: Purple, apple, little. All le.

The ending sounds like "ent" but is spelled ant.

Cue: Relevant, important, significant. All ant.

The second vowel is an i saying almost nothing, and satan is a different word.

Cue: Satin is a fabric, and it ends like robin and cabin.

The middle vowel is an a, but it is said so lightly that almost everyone writes "seperate".

Cue: There is a rat in separate.

Exactly the same swallowed middle as general.

Cue: Sev-er-al. Three beats, like general.

Sincere keeps its e when ly is added, which is not what the ear suggests.

Cue: Sincere plus ly. The e stays.

The middle e is swallowed and the ending is gy, not gee.

Cue: Strat-e-gy. Three beats.

Most people say "tempracher", so two whole vowels go missing.

Cue: Temp-er-a-ture. Four beats. Say all four while writing.

The same el ending as label.

Cue: Travel and label rhyme at the end and are spelled the same.

The same ea and the same sure ending as measure.

Cue: You measure treasure. Same middle, same end.

Said with three syllables, written with four. The middle e disappears.

Cue: Veg-e-table. There is a table in it.