Spelling words in English is difficult work. Many native speakers of English have difficulties with spelling correctly. One of the reasons for this is that some English words are NOT spelled as they are spoken. This disparity between pronunciation and spelling causes a lot of confusion. The combination “ough” provides an excellent example:
10 Most Commonly Misspelled Words in the US
1) Coolly (common misspelling: Cooly)
2) Minuscule (common misspelling: Miniscule)
3) Sergeant (common misspelling: Sargent)
4) Liaison (common misspelling: Liason)
5) Protester (common misspelling: Protestor)
6) Supersede (common misspelling: Supercede)
7) Drunkenness (common misspelling: Drunkeness)
8) Millennium (common misspellings: Millenium, Milennium)
9) Dumbbell (common misspellings: Dumbell)
10) Bellwether (common misspellings: Bellweather)
The Most Commonly Misspelled Word in Each State
1) Ignorance (Washington State)
2) Height (Oregon)
3) Exceed (California)
4) Promise (Nevada)
5) Accidentally (Idaho)
6) Experience (Montana)
7) Address (Wyoming)
8) Outrageous (Utah)
9) Playwright (Arizona)
10) Extreme (Colorado)
11) Parliament (New Mexico)
12) Occasion (North Dakota)
13) Foreign (South Dakota)
14) Reference (Nebraska)
15) Maintenance (Kansas)
16) Writing (Oklahoma)
17) Similar (Texas)
18) Becoming (Minnesota)
19) Neighbor (Iowa)
20) Height (Missouri)
21) Column (Arkansas)
22) Kernel (Louisiana)
23) Foreign (Wisconsin)
24) Neighbor (Iowa)
25) Neighbor (Illinois)
26) Acknowledge (Indiana)
27) Acquaintance (Michigan)
28) Maintenance (Kentucky)
29) Parliament (Tennessee)
30) Medieval (Ohio)
31) Ignorance (Mississippi)
32) Original (Alabama)
33) Secretary (Georgia)
34) Jewelry (Florida)
35) Promise (North Carolina)
36) Promise (South Carolina)
37) Controversy (Virginia)
38) Upholstery (West Virginia)
39) Willful (Pennsylvania)
40) Conscious (District of Columbia)
41) Twelfth (Maryland)
42) Foreign (Delaware)
43) Advisable (New Jersey)
44) Jewelry (Connecticut)
45) Guidance (Rhode Island)
46) Becoming (Massachusetts)
47) Upholstery (New York)
48) Definitely (Vermont)
49) Amateur (New Hampshire)
50) Almost (Maine)
