Understanding the differences - both are correct, just different!
| Word Type | 🇬🇧 British | 🇺🇸 American |
|---|---|---|
| -our vs -or | colour, favour, honour, labour | color, favor, honor, labor |
| -ise vs -ize | organise, realise, recognise | organize, realize, recognize |
| -re vs -er | centre, theatre, metre | center, theater, meter |
| -ence vs -ense | defence, licence (noun) | defense, license (noun) |
| -ll- vs -l- | travelling, cancelled, labelled | traveling, canceled, labeled |
| -ogue vs -og | catalogue, dialogue, analogue | catalog, dialog, analog |
| Other | grey, cheque, programme | gray, check, program |
| Meaning | 🇬🇧 British | 🇺🇸 American |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Company, Firm | Company, Corporation |
| Employee break | Holiday | Vacation |
| Payment document | Cheque | Check |
| Document storage | File, Folder | File, Folder |
| Ground floor | Ground floor | First floor |
| First floor | First floor | Second floor |
| Rubbish | Rubbish, Bin | Trash, Garbage |
| Lift | Lift | Elevator |
| Mobile phone | Mobile (phone) | Cell (phone) |
| Post | Post | |
| CV | CV (Curriculum Vitae) | Résumé |
| Diary for appointments | Diary | Planner, Calendar |
| Grammar Point | 🇬🇧 British | 🇺🇸 American |
|---|---|---|
| Collective nouns | "The team are here" (plural) "The company have decided" |
"The team is here" (singular) "The company has decided" |
| Have/Have got | "Have you got a pen?" "I've got a meeting" |
"Do you have a pen?" "I have a meeting" |
| Present perfect | "I've just finished" "Have you seen it yet?" |
"I just finished" (often) "Did you see it yet?" |
| At the weekend | "at the weekend" | "on the weekend" |
| Different from/to/than | "different from" or "different to" | "different from" or "different than" |
| Write to someone | "Write to me" | "Write me" |
| Format | 🇬🇧 British | 🇺🇸 American |
|---|---|---|
| Date order | Day/Month/Year 25/12/2025 |
Month/Day/Year 12/25/2025 |
| Writing dates | "25th December 2025" "25 December 2025" |
"December 25th, 2025" "December 25, 2025" |
| Saying dates | "the twenty-fifth of December" | "December twenty-fifth" |
| Time format | 24-hour clock common "The meeting is at 15:00" |
12-hour clock standard "The meeting is at 3:00 PM" |
| Word | 🇬🇧 British | 🇺🇸 American |
|---|---|---|
| schedule | "SHED-yool" | "SKED-jool" |
| either/neither | "EYE-ther" / "NYE-ther" | "EE-ther" / "NEE-ther" |
| privacy | "PRIV-a-see" | "PRY-va-see" |
| advertisement | "ad-VER-tis-ment" | "AD-ver-tyze-ment" |
| R sound | Often not pronounced at end "car" = "cah" |
Always pronounced "car" = "carrr" |
| T between vowels | Clear T sound "better" = "bet-ter" |
Softer, like D "better" = "bed-der" |
| Situation | 🇬🇧 British | 🇺🇸 American |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting | "Good morning" "How are you?" |
"Good morning" "How are you doing?" |
| Thanking | "Thank you very much" "Cheers" (informal) |
"Thank you so much" "Thanks a lot" |
| Apologising | "I'm terribly sorry" "Apologies for..." |
"I'm so sorry" "My apologies for..." |
| Getting attention | "Excuse me" "Sorry" |
"Excuse me" "Pardon me" |
| Arranging next meeting | "Shall we meet next week?" "Let's arrange a time" |
"Should we meet next week?" "Let's schedule a time" |
| Asking for repetition | "Sorry, could you repeat that?" "Pardon?" |
"Sorry, could you say that again?" "Excuse me?" |
| 🇬🇧 British (more formal) | 🇺🇸 American (more casual) |
|---|---|
| Yours sincerely (if you know name) Yours faithfully (if you don't) Kind regards Best regards Regards |
Sincerely Best regards Best Thanks Thank you |
| What you mean | 🇬🇧 British | 🇺🇸 American |
|---|---|---|
| Plan meeting time | arrange | schedule |
| Write in diary | put in diary | put on calendar |
| Take time off work | on holiday | on vacation |
| Move meeting time | rearrange | reschedule |
| Now | at the moment, currently | right now, currently |
| Soon | shortly, in a moment | in a minute, soon |
British vs American English | © 2025 | Both are correct - just be consistent!