How the spell check works
Every word is compared against a Hunspell dictionary built from SCOWL (Spell Checker Oriented Word Lists), the same word lists behind the spell checkers in LibreOffice and many browsers. The dictionary understands prefixes and suffixes, so “unhelpfully” is recognised even though only “help” and its affix rules are stored.
When a word is not found, suggestions are ranked by how few edits (swapped, missing or extra letters) turn your word into a real one. The check runs in a background thread of your browser, so typing stays smooth and nothing is uploaded.
Words that are spelled right but still wrong
A spell checker only knows whether a word exists. “Their”, “there” and “they’re” are all real words, so they pass. For those, use the full grammar checker, which looks at the surrounding words. Our guides on their/there/they’re, your/you’re and its/it’s explain the rules.
Commonly misspelled words
| Wrong | Right | Memory hook |
|---|---|---|
| recieve | receive | i before e, except after c |
| definately | definitely | it contains “finite” |
| seperate | separate | there is “a rat” in separate |
| occured | occurred | double c, double r |
| untill | until | one l at the end |
| accomodate | accommodate | room for two c’s and two m’s |
| wierd | weird | weird breaks the i-before-e rule |
| goverment | government | govern + ment |
| tommorow | tomorrow | one m, two r’s |
| neccessary | necessary | one collar (c), two sleeves (s) |
US or UK spelling?
Choose the dictionary in the checker’s top bar. English (US) accepts “color”, “organize” and “traveled”; English (UK) accepts “colour”, “organise” and “travelled”. Pick the one your reader expects and stay consistent throughout a document.