小心！ 外国人也会拼错的10个单词

 　　NOTE: Any spell-check program ought to catch most of these for you. However, the wisest course is to master them yourself.

　　注意：任何拼写检查程序都应该能发现其中大部分错误。但最明智的做法是自己掌握它们。

　　For fun, I did a search for the incorrect version of nine of the ten. I didn’t bother with Number 7 because both its and it’s are valid¹ spellings. The number of hits for the misspellings is shown in parentheses². Some refer to intentional³ misspellings on English sites like this one, but not all.

　　出于乐趣，我搜索了10个错误拼写中的9个。我没有搜第7个是因为its和it’s都是正确的拼写。括号中是错误拼写的搜索结果数。其中部分错误是像这个网站中出现的那样，属于有目的的拼写错误，但并非所有都如此。

　　小心！ 外国人也会拼错的10个单词

　　1. argument (“arguement” 730,000)

　　The verb is argue, but the noun is argument.

　　动词是argue，但名词是argument。

　　2. calendar (“calender” 29,600,000)

　　The register on which you schedule your appointments is spelled calendar. Yes, there is a specialized⁴ term spelled calender that refers to paper production, but I doubt that it accounts for millions of uses.

　　用来记录约会的登记簿拼作calendar。的确，有一个拼作calender（意思是砑光机）的造纸行业术语，但我怀疑数以百万计搜索结果恐怕不会都来自这么偏僻的单词。

　　3. cemetery⁵ (“cemetary”185,000,000)

　　There are three e’s in cemetery. Nary an a in sight.

　　Cemetery中有3个e，没有a。

　　4. definite (“definate” 539,000)

　　Think, finite, infinite, infinity⁶. Look at all those i’s. No a’s anywhere in definite.

　　想想finite、infinite和infinity。看看这些i。Definite里没有a。

　　5. finally (“finaly” 1,450,000)

　　The adjective is final. The adverb is finally. Double that l in finally.

　　形容词是final，副词是finally。L要写两遍。

　　6. forty (“fourty” 783,000)

　　One less than five is spelled four. One more than thirty-nine is spelled forty.

　　5 – 1 = 4（four），39 + 1 = 40（forty）。

　　7. its (possessive adjective)

　　The problem with this habitual⁷ misspelling is that both its and it’s are English spellings. It’s is a contraction⁸ of the words “It is.” Its is a possessive adjective, like his. The best advice is to spell out “it is” when that is your meaning. You cannot rely on grammar/spell checkers to catch this one. Indeed, Word often advises me to write “it’s” when the context calls for its.

　　对于这个经常拼错的单词，问题在于its和it’s都是英语中正确的拼写。It’s是it is的缩写。像his一样，its则是所有格形容词。最好的建议是当你想用it’s时把它写成it is。你不能依赖语法或拼写检查程序来发现这个错误。事实上，Word经常在文中应该出现its的时候建议我写it’s。

　　8. separate (“seperate” 31,700,000)

　　Take the word by syllables⁹: sep-a-rate. Yes, we pronounce it [sep-uh-ret], but we spell it sep-a-rate. Look for “a rat” in sep.a.rat.e.

　　把这个词按音节划分：sep-a-rate。我们的确把它读为[sep-uh-ret]，但拼写则是sep-a-rate。在separate中有只老鼠（a rat）。

　　9. tragedy(“tradgedy” 212,000)

　　The g in tragedy is soft. The e makes the g soft. No extra d, please.

　　Tragedy中的g发软辅音，e让g发软辅音。请不要多加d。

　　小编注：g发硬辅音时，念作[g]，例如go；发软辅音时，念作[d?]，例如gym。

　　10. truly(“truely” 62,600,000)

　　The adjective is true. The adverb is truly.

　　形容词是true。副词是truly。

1 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

2 parentheses   

n.圆括号，插入语，插曲（ parenthesis的名词复数 ）

参考例句：

• Irregular forms are given in parentheses . 不规则形式标注在括号内。
• Answer these questions, using the words in parentheses. Put the apostrophe in the right place. 用句后括号中的词或词组来回答问题，注意撇号的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

4 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

5 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

6 infinity   

n.无限，无穷，大量

参考例句：

• It is impossible to count up to infinity.不可能数到无穷大。
• Theoretically,a line can extend into infinity.从理论上来说直线可以无限地延伸。

7 habitual   

adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的

参考例句：

• He is a habitual criminal.他是一个惯犯。
• They are habitual visitors to our house.他们是我家的常客。

8 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

9 syllables   

n.音节( syllable的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a word with two syllables 双音节单词
• 'No. But I'll swear it was a name of two syllables.' “想不起。不过我可以发誓，它有两个音节。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记