Difference in spelling of commonly use words
-or, -our
These words are differentiated using OR or OUR at the end of a word. American English uses -or, and British English uses -our.
| American English | British English |
| color | colour |
| honor | honour |
| favor | favour |
| humor | humour |
| neighbor | neighbour |
-yze, -yse
These words are differentiated using YZE or YSE at the end of a word. American English uses -yze, and British English uses -yse.
| American English | British English |
| paralyze | paralyse |
| dialyze | dialyse |
| analyze | analyse |
-ize, -ise
These words are differentiated using IZE or ISE at the end of a word. American English uses -ize, and British English mostly uses -ise, though -ize is sometimes used.
| American English | British English |
| finalize | finalise |
| optimize | optimise |
| visualize | visualise |
| stigmatize | stigmatise |
| recognize | recognise |
-er, -re
These words are differentiated using ER or RE at the end of a word. American English uses -er, and British English uses -re.
| American English | British English |
| theater | theatre |
| meter | metre |
| liter | litre |
| fiber | fibre |
| somber | sombre |
-og, -ogue
Some nouns end with OG in American English and with OGUE in British English.
| American English | British English |
| catalog | catalogue |
| dialog | dialogue |
| analog | analogue |
oe/ae and e
These words are differentiated using OE/AE or E. American English uses e, and British English uses oe or ae:
| American English | British English |
| maneuver | manoeuvre |
| diarrhea | diarrhoea |
| anemia | anaemia |
| feces | faeces |
| encyclopedia | encyclopaedia |
-ed, -t
These words are differentiated using ED or T for past tense verbs. American English uses -ed, and British English prefers -t.
| American English | British English |
| spelled | spelt |
| leaped | leapt |
| dreamed | dreamt |
| smelled | smelt |
| burned | burnt |
-ense, -ence
These words are differentiated using ENSE or ENCE at the end of a word. American English uses -ense and British English uses -ence.
| American English | British English |
| pretense | pretence |
| defense | defence |
| offense | offence |
| license (verb and noun) | licence (noun only; verb is license) |
-el, -ell
These words are differentiated using ELL or EL. American English uses –el and British English uses –ell.
| American English | British English |
| traveled | travelled |
| labeled | labelled |
| jeweler | jeweller |
| canceled | cancelled |
| marvelous | marvellous |
