It may not surprise you to know that I’m rather passionate about good spelling. It’s the very basics of quality copywriting, after all. When I spot a misspelt word, it’s like fingernails on a chalkboard. That’s why I’ll always do my utmost to make sure everything I write is clean and accurate.
But unfortunately, sometimes mistakes happen and it’s often the same words that people are getting wrong. Here are 20 of the most common spelling errors in the UK:
| Correct | Incorrect |
|---|---|
| Calendar | Calender |
| Liaise | Liase |
| Necessary | Neccessary |
| Weird | Wierd |
| Receive | Recieve |
| Surprise | Suprise |
| Separate | Seperate |
| Believe | Belive |
| Definitely | Definately |
| Cemetery | Cemetary |
| Business | Buisness |
| Independent | Independant |
| Tattoo | Tatoo |
| Caribbean | Carribean |
| Beginning | Begining |
But if you make the occasional spelling error, don’t worry. At least your mistake wasn’t quite as high profile (or permanent in the first example) as these (hopefully):
- A man in Newcastle had the words “My First Tatoo” tattooed in rainbow lettering on his back
- Coca-Cola misspelt “Vitamin” on their bottle label as “Vitaman”
- KFC once tweeted “FCK” instead of KFC following a kitchen shutdown
- Nestle once misspelt “KitKat” as “KItKat” on their packaging
- In 2013, Tesco apologised for its horse meat scandal with an apology advert that misspelt “horse meat” as “wholesome meat”
- In 2011, Tesco’s magazine cover had “Sainsbury’s” instead of “Tesco”
- In 2019, a Chanel billboard in Paris misspelt the brand name as “Channel”
- In 2020, Coca-Cola misspelt “Australia Day” as “Austrailia Day” on limited-edition cans
- The Guardian newspaper nicknamed “Grauniad” for its history of typos, has published such errors as “a standing fart”, “irritable bowl syndrome”, and “Taming of the Screw”
Correct spelling is crucial for projecting a professional image in business. So, whether you’re tweeting, posting a blog post or placing an advert, make sure your spelling is always tip-top. Better still hire a freelance copywriter like me to write your copy for you! Get in touch and let me know how I can help you.