Differences between UK

and US English
Overview and examples

Differences between UK and US

English
America was initially set up by people
who emigrated from the UK and
Europe after 1600.
UK English and US English are
therefore very similar. However, there
are quite a lot of minor differences in
the way the two languages have
evolved.

Spelling
There are a few main ways in which
the spelling of words in US English
differs
to UK
UK
US English:
Rule
Colour/Favo Color/Fav
ur
or

US has no U in British -OUR words

Centre

Center

US has ER in British RE endings

Travelling

Traveling

US has a single L for many

continuous verbs

Realise

Realize

US has Z instead of S for British SE

endings

Grey

Gray

Individual spellings may differ too

The alphabet
The alphabet is the same in both
languages, apart from the pronunciation
of the name of the final letter Z:
UK pronunciation

US pronunciation

Zed

Zee

Vocabulary
The vocabulary of UK and US English has many
differences, however there is a lot of crossover due
to the spread of language due to modern factors
such as movies, literature and social networking.
Here are
some of the famous
ones:
UK English
US English
Lift

Elevator

Flat

Apartment

The underground

The subway

Pants/Knickers

Underwear/Panties

Trousers

Pants

Pronunciation
The languages of UK and US English sound quite
different in terms of pronunciation. This is probably
the most notable difference between the two
languages. Here are some common examples:
UK English

US English

Silent r - Jumper-Jumpa

Stronger r sound Jumper-Jumperrr

Shorter vowel sounds - Ham

Ham

Longer vowel sounds Ham

Haarm

The t sound is more like a t in

UK - Computu

The t sound is more like a d in US Compudar

Idioms
One of the very interesting ways the two languages
have evolved separately is in the use of idioms (and
phrasal verbs). Both languages share a vast array of
idioms, but because some originated in a different
culture, some may not be so well known in the
other:
UK English

US English

Do a U-turn

Flip a bitch! (U-Turn would be

OK too)

Watch a movie

Go see a movie

Im confused, which one should I

use?!
A common fear is mixing up the languages, and
worrying about using the wrong form of the
language in the wrong situation.
Do not worrymost native speakers you are likely
to meet will understand both forms of the language
and it will not cause a problem.
Generally US English is in everyday use more now
due to it being the default language of Hollywood
and the internet/technology (such as Microsoft
Word, Facebook etc.) which have been pioneered by
innovative American companies.