20 words that even literate people misspell

1. Offhand

Not right: on a skip.

So he begs me to divide the word into two parts, but this is a mistake. It answers the question "How?" and is an adverb, therefore it is written together. But it is easier to remember by synonyms that cannot be written separately: approximately, arbitrarily.

2. Subscription

Not right: subscription.

For some reason, here and there they offer to buy an "subscription". Indeed, the ill-fated "and" is heard in the word. There is no way to check the spelling, because the lexeme is a dictionary one. But you can remember if you choose a paronym-rhyme with the letter "e" - subscriber. In both cases, the letter "and" is out of place.

3. Next

Not right: next.

The difficulty arises because the letter "u" is not heard in oral speech. To avoid making a mistake, just say to yourself: “I follow NS - means, the trace NSshy ".

4. Future

Not right: future.

By the same principle as above, it is easy to remember the spelling of this word: "I will be - means the future."

5. Cardinal

Not right: cordinal, coordination.

The Internet has seen all kinds of variants of this word, even with a double "o" at the beginning. But once and for all to remember how it is written will help the "Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language" by Max Vasmer. "Cardinal" comes from the "Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language" by Max Fasmer - Cardinal from the Latin word cardinālis, which means "main". The letter "a" is written in both cases.

6. Boycott

Not right: boycott.

By ear, the letter "o" in this word is not perceived, hence all the problems. You can understand why it is still written differently from its origin. We borrowed the "Dictionary of Russian Foreign Words" - Boycott, a word from the English language, which it entered thanks to the Irish estate manager Charles Cunningham Boycott. He was too demanding, and in 1880 the land tenants refused to pay him, declaring a boycott. The person received an unflattering glory, and we - the letter "o" in this word.

7. Grand Prix

Not right: grand prix, grand prix, grand prix.

For those who know French, the hyphen may seem redundant here. And even the unnecessary "d" strives to get in the way. Because in the original it looks like this: grand prix. But in this case, the borrowed word has two roots: -Gran- and -pri-. In a foreign language, each of them can exist independently, in the Russian Grand Prix it is a difficult word. Because it is composed of two roots, and a hyphen is necessary between them.

8. Linoleum

Not right: lenolium, lenoleum, linoleum.

Poor flooring has been plagued with writing, it seems, since its inception. Unfortunately, there is no way to check the spelling. But let's turn to the original composition of linoleum, it is hidden in the name itself. From Latin linum is translated as "flax", and oleum - "oil". By combining these two words, we get the only correct spelling.

9. Subtle

Not right: little noticeable.

I really want to split the word into two parts, and this is even understandable: there are two roots - -mall- and -notice-. But then the question arises, where did the letter "o" come from? It's very simple: it is an interfix and just connects two roots, making the word complex. Therefore, we will write it together, like other compound adjectives.

10. Quintessence

Not right: quintessence, quintessence.

Sometimes I really want to shine with knowledge and screw in a smart word, but it is easy to get the opposite effect in writing. However, as soon as we break the lexeme into two parts, everything falls into place. From the Latin quinta essentia the Ecyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron is translated - Quintessence as “the fifth essence”. The word "essence" is probably familiar to you too, and the "eh" is perfectly heard at the beginning. Only here the doubled "c" has to be remembered, there is no way to check it.

11. Peripherals

Not right: periphery.

The Russian prefix is translated and asks to appear in this word, but in fact -periphery- is the root. The history of its occurrence will help us to avoid mistakes. Occurs "Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language" - Periphery word from the Greek periphereia - a circle, where per i means "around".

12. Background

Not right: prehistory.

There is a simple rule in Russian. If the prefix ends with a consonant, and the word begins with "and", then an "s" is placed between them. An example in which this is clearly heard is “under NSskat ", but" by andskat ".

13. Manager

Not right: manager.

And again, the insidious letter "yu" is lost during pronunciation. But we find it in the same easy way as above: “I will NS - that means I'll run NSshy ".

14. Cholesterol

Not right: cholesterol.

As with most words that are not native to our language, difficulties arise with it. Cholesterol "Dictionary of Foreign Words of the Russian Language" - Cholesterol is a special fatty substance contained in bile. The origin of the word is Greek, and chol e just means "bile". In Russian, “chole” is one of the roots.

15. Incident

Not right: incident.

This Russified foreign word is entirely the root. It is vocabulary and must be memorized. But etymology comes to our rescue again. The word happened "Big Encyclopedic Dictionary" - Incident from Latin inc identis - happening. And in fact, and in another case, we write "and".

16. Ingredient

Not right: ingredient, ingredient.

A complex borrowed vocabulary word that is also entirely a root. Errors with "e" at the beginning are rare, but they do occur. The main difficulty lies in the middle. To write correctly, let's turn to Latin again. Ingredi in translation means "Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language" - Ingredient "to enter". Therefore, an ingredient is an integral part of something, that is, a component.

17. Cacophony

Not right: cocophony.

You have experienced this phenomenon on several occasions when a neighbor's child is learning to play the piano or someone is doing repairs nearby. But how to spell the word correctly - not many people know. To remember why "a" is written, the Greek language will help us. In its composition there is a "Dictionary of Foreign Words of the Russian Language" - Cacophony, the word kakos, in translation - bad, bad. In principle, this is true - the pleasant sounds of kakos will not be named.

18. Canapes

Not right: canapé.

This French word - canapé - means "Encyclopedic Dictionary" - Canapes are not only a small sandwich, but also a wide armchair or sofa. How furniture became small sandwiches - history is silent. But it is known that a word is often mistaken.

19. Excessive

Not right: excessive.

The extra letter "e" suggests itself, because we are used to seeing the word "through" as an excuse. It is more common and has the same meaning. But in this case it is a prefix. It existed "Old Slavonic language", Nikolenkova N. V. still in the Old Slavonic language and looked like "chrѣz". Since then, the word "excessive" is spelled that way, and this must be remembered.

20. Extreme

Not right: extreme.

Many people are misled by the word "extreme", which uses "and". Ice cream will help us remember how to spell a tricky adjective. If you remember, there is such a horn - Extr eme. Remembering him, you definitely will not make a mistake.