If you’ve ever Googled a word to figure out how to spell it, congratulations, you are extremely normal.
According to Google search data shared by Mental Floss, millions of people are quietly doing the exact same thing every single month. And yes, the words tripping us up are words we use all the time.
The most misspelled, most Googled-for-spelling word is restaurant. Americans search for the correct spelling an average of 95,000 times a month. The main problem seems to be that sneaky “A-U” in the middle. You know the word. You have eaten there a thousand times. Your fingers still freeze halfway through typing it.
Right behind it is pneumonia, which makes sense because it starts with a silent “P” and then immediately throws an “E-U” at you for no reason. English really said, “Good luck,” and walked away.
Third on the list is appreciate. People constantly second-guess how many P’s it has and whether there is a C or an S hiding in the middle. It does not help that spellcheck sometimes waits a beat before saving you, just long enough to make you feel judged.
Here are the Top 10:
1. Restaurant. We google the spelling an average of 95,000 times a month. The part that trips a lot of us up is the “A-U” in the middle.
2. Pneumonia. There’s a silent “P”, and an “E-U” in there.
3. Appreciate. People forget how many “P’s” there are, and whether there’s a “C” or an “S” halfway through.
4. Receipt. Remember, it’s “I” before “E” except after “C.”
5. Beautiful. Tough because it’s got three vowels in a row. (When in doubt, think of “Bruce Almighty” . . . B-E-A-UTIFUL.)
6. Niece. People can’t remember if it’s an “I-E” or an “E-I”.
7. Maintenance. We forget where the “A’s” and “E’s” go.
8. Bougie. (pronounced booj-ee) Like, “You bought the expensive champagne? Wow, you’re so bougie.”
9. Diarrhea. You don’t have to know how to spell it to have it.
10. Congratulations. We google it a lot, partly because we write it on Facebook so much.