Everyone makes spelling mistakes from time to time, from elementary school students to wise professors. While a few typos and a few ashibaki (missing words) in a long text are hardly noticeable, regular violations of Russian language rules already suggest a person didn't do well in school.
We present to you the top 20 most common spelling mistakes in the Russian language.
Put on clothes
How to put on clothes correctly
You've probably heard the easy-to-remember mnemonic rule about "dressing" and "putting on." They dress Nadezhda, and they put on clothes.
It's funny that in the film "The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!" the main character, Nadezhda, a teacher of Russian language and literature, says: "My dress, I forgot to put on my holiday dress.".
Company and campaign
Correct: Depends on the context
One of the most common spelling errors in Russian involves homophones—words that sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings.
- When we talk about a company, we mean a group of people, or a commercial or industrial enterprise.
- But when it comes to a campaign, the word refers to any military action carried out by a state during a war, or a set of activities aimed at solving an important economic, political, or social problem (for example, a presidential election campaign).
Suitor
How to spell it correctly: suitor
When you see the word "groomer" in a text, you associate it with a worm that crawls into your ear and slowly gnaws holes in it. Or with a sadist who eats the ears of his victims.
But the word «suitor» has a beautiful test word – «to court.».
From this and from that
Correct: Depends on the context
If you use «ottaki» to mean a reason (because, for a reason), then the word must be written together.
If "from that" is followed by the modifier, the word must be written separately. Example: I ran from that snake because I mistook it for a viper.
During and in prison
Correct: Depends on the context
As one character in a joke said, "Children, it's impossible to understand! Just remember it!" In fact, you can understand it, but the explanation will be boring, and you'll probably get tired of reading it.
So just remember: we write "in the current" when we're talking about the direction of water movement. And "in prison" when we're talking about a prisoner, that is, a person in jail.
In all other cases, the letter "e" must be written at the ends of these words.
It's cute
How to spell it correctly: nice
If you don't notice that Microsoft Word and other word processors underline this word with the "o" in the middle as misspelled, you might remember that there's a test word: sympathy.
Unit
What is the correct spelling: unit
I admit, this mistake haunted me until the third grade. But many people make it even in adulthood. All you have to remember is that the word "unit" has two corrective words: "ediny" (unit), "edine" (unit).
Same and same
Correct: Depends on the context
If you're unsure whether to spell the word "also" together or separately, mentally replace it with the conjunction "and." If it works, the word should be written together. However, if the word "also" is followed by the conjunction "kak," it should be written separately. Just like in this sentence.
T'ya and ts'ya in verbs
What is correct: depends on what question the verb answers
Admit it, have you ever made this mistake? If so, don't worry—you're not alone! On the RuNet, both young and old confuse "tsya" and "tsya.".
There's no need to confuse them. Just mentally answer the question of what the verb answers.
- If the question is "what is he doing" or "what will he do?", the word is written without the soft sign. For example: he admires you.
- And if the question is "what to do" or "what to do" - then with a soft one. For example: he wants to admire you.
Sorry
What is the correct way to say: excuse me?
Well, maybe we can forgive the first time. But in the future, we must remember that we are talking about an offense, not a vein in a human body, or even the city of Vienna.
Here
Correct: here
Why some people write the sonorous word "zdes'" (here) as the threateningly muffled "sdes'" (here) is a mystery to me. Perhaps the spirits of their ancient Slavic ancestors, who wrote the word "s'des'" (here) to mean "this," speak within them.
As if, as if
What is the correct spelling: as if
These two words are always written separately. Short and simple, right?
girl
How is it correct: girl
The suffix "-onk" is used when we want to emphasize the small size of an animate or inanimate object.
Perhaps, words with this suffix sound better with «-enk», but they are still written with «-onk».
What, hardly, just a little
What is correct: chto li, ili hardly, ili
We pronounce these words together, which creates the impression that they are written that way. But according to the rules of the Russian language, this trinity of particles is written separately from the adverb "ли." Always. And they don't even need a hyphen.
Why and for what purpose
Correct: Depends on the context
Remember the final dialogue between Agent Smith and Neo in The Matrix Revolutions? It began like this:
— Why, Mr. Anderson, why? In the name of what? What are you doing? Why, why are you getting up? Why do you keep fighting?
If Agent Smith had asked, "Why are you getting up? Why do you keep fighting?" Neo might not have had an answer. After all, the word "why" is used separately in the context of "behind some barrier" (a house, a wall, etc.).
If we use «why», meaning «for what», then this word must be written together.
All in all
Correct spelling: in general
Sometimes the word "in general" is used as an introductory clause, meaning "essentially" or "essentially." But more often, it's an adverb, meaning "on the whole," "without going into details." In both cases, it's written separately.
Come
What is the correct way: to come
This verb is one of the most ancient among all Indo-European languages. It once sounded like "itti." It has been written in many different ways: pridit, itti, and even priti. However, in our time, only one correct spelling is "podit.".
To do
How to do it correctly:
Many people are accustomed to pronouncing this word as "здел" (to make). Unfortunately, this is a case where it's spelled differently than it sounds. In this case, the letter "с" is a prefix. And the prefix "з" doesn't exist in Russian morphemes.
Thailand
Correct spelling: Thailand
This is one of the most common spelling mistakes on the RuNet. We write "Taitsy" and "Thai," but the country's name is actually Thailand. But you'll agree that the word sounds nicer with the letter "y.".
Incidentally, many tour operators and advertising agencies, aware of Russians' habit of writing "Thailand" instead of "Thailand," use the incorrect spelling on their websites to stay at the top of search results.
Ice cream, frozen
The correct spelling is: ice cream
Summer has arrived, which means we've started saying and writing the word "ice cream" much more often than we did in winter. It's a noun, and it's spelled with one "n.".
But if «ice cream» is a passive participle (trout, frozen in the refrigerator, frozen product, defrosted freezer), then the double letter «n» appears.