Differences in Spelling

There are many words that are spelt differently in both forms of English. Some examples are:

A majority of the spelling differences between American and British English fall into the following categories:

• Latin-derived spellings
  • -our (British) and -or (American). e.g. colour vs color
  • -re (British) and -er (American). e.g. centre vs center
  • -ce (British) and -se (American). e.g. defence vs defense
• Greek-derived spellings
  • -ise (British) and -ize (American). e.g. centralise vs centralize
  • -yse (British) and -yze (American). e.g. analyse vs analyze
  • -ogue (British) and -og (American). e.g. dialogue vs dialog
  • Simplification of ae and oe in American English. e.g. gynaecology vs gynecology

 

American English spelling	British English spelling
color	colour
fulfill	fulfil
center	centre
analyze	analyse
aging	ageing
dialog	dialogue
anesthesia,	anaesthesia