English is usually regarded as a single language, but that’s a simplification.

It’s spoken as a first language by significant numbers of people who live in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Canada, the USA, various nations in the Caribbean, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, Botswana, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, to give a distinctly incomplete list. All these people speak it differently from each other, and in several of the places where it’s the primary language (Britain and the USA), there are also significant regional differences in vocabulary and pronunciation.

Of the various forms of English, there are two that have high status as written forms of the language: British English (BrE) and American English (AmE). While, as I’ve just said, there is no one British English and no one American English as far as the spoken language is concerned, and while there’s no central authority that enforces standardization on either form, there are some systematic conventions that are usually observed when writing British English or American English.

British English is also, more or less, the written English of most of the British Commonwealth (countries that belonged to the British Empire before its breakup after World War II). I say “most” because Canada, being next to the USA, uses a hybrid of British English and American English. I’m not Canadian, so I can’t say a lot about Canadian English, but because New Zealand–where I’m from–imports books from both Britain and the USA, and also because I was educated in a form of British English but have been married to an American since 1999, I’m more aware than most people of the differences between British and American English.

George Bernard Shaw famously described Britain and the USA as “two nations separated by a common language.” While most British and American people are able to make themselves understood to each other with minimal difficulty if they don’t use colloquialisms (apart from a few vocabulary items that mean different things on the two sides of the Atlantic–of which more below), there are some common markers which will tell an alert person which dialect you are writing in.

I’m not just talking about the spelling, though certainly that too; American spelling was partially reformed through the efforts of Noah Webster in the 19th century, with center replacing centre and color replacing colour, for example. I mean ways of phrasing things and frequently-used vocabulary that, to someone who knows the difference, will scream “American” or “British”.

This becomes important if you are a speaker of one dialect and your characters are speakers of the other. I most often see the problem with Americans trying to write British people, but it goes the other way as well.

Here are some examples I’ve noted in published books that I’ve read, or that are likely to come up often. They are easily avoided if you’re aware of them, but if you’re unaware, you risk breaking the immersion of your reader by dropping a clanging dialect error into the middle of your narrative. In some cases, I point out that the difference is specific to Britain itself, in which case the American term is usually used in other nations that use British English.

This is a starter list, and you should do your own research, using a historical dictionary if you plan to set your story in the past, to avoid anachronisms.

I’ll take this opportunity to point out an error I’ve seen several times, where stories set in England prior to the 1970s use metric measurements instead of Imperial (traditional) measurements for things like land area. Imperial measurements are still in use in several everyday contexts in Britain, sometimes alongside metric measures, and metrication is still not complete or legally required in all contexts; but British scientists have used the metric system since the mid-19th century. Note also that some British Imperial measurements that have the same name as American traditional measurements are not the same size (gallons, for example).

Let’s start with a few phrases.

BrE “the next couple of days” (AmE often or usually omits “of”).

AmE “Where is it at?” (BrE omits “at”). 

AmE “off of” (BrE generally omits “of”). I saw this throughout a book by a well-known American author, one which won a number of awards. The main character was supposed to be a Cambridge-educated British man, and every time he said “off of” my suspension of disbelief crashed to the ground.

BrE “I’ll go and look” (AmE usually omits “and” between “come” or “go” and another verb).  

BrE “cobblestoned street” (AmE frequently omits the “d” and says “cobblestone street”).

Compare “unbias platform” (claimed by social media platform GETTR) and “close-minded” for “closed-minded”. I’ve also seen “his trouble childhood,” but that may be merely a typo. The difference between the ones that are different but valid (“cobblestone street”) and the ones that are considered errors (“unbias platform”) is that “cobblestone” is what the street is made of, and can therefore work like “stone wall”; as a noun, it can inherently be used to modify another noun without modification, in a way that doesn’t work for adjectives that are not also nouns.

AmE “she’s visiting with her friend” can mean that she is at home and the friend has come to see her; in BrE this would be phrased as “her friend has come to visit her,” and the phrase “visit with” is unlikely to occur. In BrE, “visit” implies that the person doing the visiting is not in their home, but in the home of the other party.

BrE “I suppose” vs AmE “I guess”. (The American usage is becoming more common in Britain, but the longer ago your story is set, the less likely your British character is to say “I guess” when they mean “I suppose”.)

AmE “a ways away”; BrE would probably say “some distance off”.

A terminological oddity that doesn’t belong anywhere else: in BrE, the floor of a building at street level is the ground floor, and the first floor is the floor above that. AmE has a more rational method of calling the street level the first floor and the floor above that the second floor.

Now, specific vocabulary words. Since I more often see American authors getting British English wrong, I will mention the American version first and alphabetize by it. I’ve also grouped them into themes, so if, for example, you are setting a scene in a kitchen, you can check the “Food and Drink” section.

Entries with the keyword in bold are cases where the same word is used in BrE and AmE to mean two different things, rather than two different words being used to mean the same thing, as in the other entries.

This is not a comprehensive list, and you should always do your own checking; the point is to make you aware of some of the commoner differences.

General Vocabulary

AmE “anyplace” vs BrE “anywhere”. Also someplace vs somewhere, noplace vs nowhere.

AmE “attorney” vs BrE “barrister” (if they will be arguing cases in court) or “solicitor” (if they will be doing office-based legal work); “lawyer” is understandable everywhere.

AmE “baggage” vs BrE “luggage”. (The literal meaning only; “emotional baggage” is called that everywhere, though it’s more likely to be used by an American.)

Bum: in the US, this is another word for someone who is homeless or down on their luck, but in Britain it refers to the buttocks. The British usage is starting to spread to the US as of recently.

AmE “elevator” vs BrE “lift” (though “elevator” is now understood, and often used, internationally).

AmE “individual” vs BrE “person” (in phrases like “I saw a suspicious individual/person on the street corner”).

AmE “fall” vs BrE “autumn”. “Autumn” is also used in the US, but “fall” (in the sense of the season) is not used in BrE.

Fanny: in the US, this means a person’s buttocks, but in Britain it means a woman’s genital area. Don’t have your British characters pat a woman on her fanny unless you’re clear on what that means.

AmE “flashlight” vs BrE “torch”. My brother-in-law, a New Zealander working in the US in the oil industry at the time, caused consternation among his American colleagues when he was checking inside an empty oil tank and asked someone to hand him a torch, which in the US means welding equipment.

AmE “goosebumps” vs BrE “goose pimples”.

Hands up: in Britain, this phrase is used in calling for a vote by show of hands, but in the US it implies raising your hands because you’re being threatened by a weapon.

AmE “Holstein” (breed of cow) vs BrE “Ayrshire”.

AmE “janitor” vs BrE “caretaker” (of an institution) or “porter” (of a dwelling).

Knock up: in Britain, this means to wake someone up by knocking on their door. It was a job for a while, in the days after industrialization meant getting up at a specific time was important, but before there were cheap, reliable alarm clocks. In the US, to knock someone up means to get them pregnant.

AmE “mail” vs BrE “post” (specific to Britain). This difference is in how the letters you receive are referred to, and the verb used for sending a letter; both countries talk about a “post office.”

AmE “math” vs BrE “maths” (two different ways to abbreviate “mathematics”).

AmE “package” vs BrE “packet” (of biscuits or chips, for example) or “parcel” (if it’s for sending objects through the post).

AmE “period” (punctuation) vs BrE “full stop”.

AmE “raise” vs BrE “rise” (in salary; specific to Britain).

Rubber: in the US, this is a condom. In Britain, it’s what Americans call an eraser, and it’s quite innocent for teenagers to carry a rubber in their pencil case.

AmE “sick” vs BrE “ill”. “Unwell” should work anywhere.

AmE “thumbtack” vs BrE “drawing pin”.

AmE “vacation” vs BrE “holiday”. In AmE, a holiday is a public holiday, what in Britain is often called a “bank holiday”. In BrE, it means you are going away for leisure purposes.

Cars (see also On the Street/Going Out)

AmE “automobile” vs BrE “car” (“car” is, of course, used in the USA as well).

AmE “body shop” vs BrE “panel beater”.

AmE “cab” vs BrE “taxi” (“taxi” is used in both).

AmE “freeway” vs BrE “motorway”.

AmE “gas station” vs BrE “petrol station,” “filling station” or “service station”.

AmE “gearshift” vs BrE “gear lever”.

AmE “hood” and “trunk” vs BrE “bonnet” and “boot” (in refence to parts of a car).

AmE “motor” vs BrE “engine” (a “motor” in some parts of Britain, among working-class people at least, is a car).

AmE “parking lot” vs BrE “carpark”.

AmE “windshield” vs BrE “windscreen”.

AmE “wreck” vs BrE “crash” (referring to a car accident).

AmE “wrench” vs BrE “spanner”.

Clothing

AmE “derby” vs BrE “bowler”. I read a book not too long ago by an experienced American author, who should have known better, in which one of these hats was repeatedly called a “derby” by his most British character.

Dungarees: in Britain, this means what an American would call bib overalls. In America, it used to mean hard-wearing trousers.

Jumper: in Britain, this is a sweater (that word is also used, along with “pullover” or “jersey”). The garment called a jumper in the US is a pinafore dress in Britain.

Pants: in Britain (not in the Commonwealth) refers specifically to underpants. In the US, and most of the rest of the world, a synonym for trousers.

AmE “sneakers” vs BrE “trainers” (outside Britain, “sneakers” tends to be the term).

AmE “spool of thread” vs BrE “reel of cotton”.

Suspenders: in the US, these are what British people call braces, a means of holding up your trousers by looping a strap over the shoulder. In Britain, suspenders hold up stockings; in America, that’s a garter belt.

Vest: in Britain (but not in the Commonwealth), this means what is known elsewhere, including the USA, as a singlet or undershirt. In the USA, it means what is known elsewhere, including Britain, as a waistcoat.

AmE “zipper” vs BrE “zip”.

Education

AmE “alumnus” vs BrE “graduate” if you’re talking about a university, or “old boy/girl” if you’re talking about a secondary school.

AmE “college” vs BrE “university” (sometimes “varsity” or “uni”; “varsity” is more old-fashioned and pretentious). In British and Commonwealth countries, “college” can sometimes mean a secondary school, though the universities of Oxford and Cambridge (and some other British universities) are made up of a number of colleges as well. Americans are well advised to do some research on terminology and procedures before setting any part of their story in a British university or talking about people who have been to one. For example, an undergraduate degree in Britain normally takes three years, not four. The American terminology of “freshman,” “sophomore,” “junior” and “senior” is not used; the three years are simply first year, second year, third year.

AmE “high school” vs BrE “secondary school”. (“High school” is used in some parts of the Commonwealth.)

AmE “principal” (of a school) vs BrE “headmaster” or “headmistress”. Commonwealth English is slowly adopting the US usage, often alongside the British usage.

Public school: in Britain, confusingly, a “public school” is a private school (the “public” part originally distinguished it from being educated locally or in your own home). What Americans call a public school is a state school in Britain. Check the exact terminology for the period of your setting; it’s changed several times over the years.

AmE “recess” vs BrE “break” (meaning a period of time at a school where class is not in session, but it’s not lunchtime; in New Zealand when I was at school we called this “interval”).

AmE “semester” vs BrE “term”. There are typically three terms in an academic year in Britain.

Food and Drink

AmE “bar” vs BrE “pub”. There are some technical differences; if you plan to set a scene in one, look them up on Wikipedia.

AmE “can” vs BrE “tin” (“can” is also used; “tin” can also mean a container with a lid, made out of metal, such as you might keep biscuits in).

AmE “candy” vs BrE “sweets”.

Chips: in Britain, this means what Americans call French fries (which are actually Belgian, but never mind), as in “fish and chips”. What Americans call chips are crisps in the UK, though the American usage is spreading internationally.

AmE “cookie” vs BrE “biscuit”. If you’re a baking nerd, there is a technical difference between a cookie and a biscuit (cookies are made from a softer, thicker, denser dough and are generally larger), but as a rule of thumb, call it a biscuit if it’s British.

AmE “cotton candy” vs BrE “candyfloss”.

AmE “eggplant” vs BrE “aubergine”. Either may be used in BrE outside Britain.

Entree: in the US, this means the main course of a meal, but in BrE it means the appetizer.

Grill: in the US, this means to cook on a barbecue, but in BrE it means what Americans call broiling.

AmE “grilled cheese sandwich” vs BrE “toasted cheese sandwich”.

AmE “shrimp” vs BrE “prawn” (though “shrimp” is also understood).

AmE “zucchini” vs BrE “courgette”. Either may be used in BrE outside Britain.

Games and Pastimes

AmE “checkers” vs BrE “draughts”. At the age of about five, I encountered this game under the name of “draughts,” but was briefly confused because I’d previously been introduced to it as “checkers” by my American cousins.

AmE “tic-tac-toe” vs BrE “noughts and crosses”.

AmE “chutes and ladders” vs BrE “snakes and ladders”.

The Home and Family

AmE “baby buggy” or “baby carriage” vs BrE “pram” (originally short for “perambulator”).

AmE “bathtub” vs BrE “bath”. In Britain and some Commonwealth countries, you are likely to find one of these in a bathroom, and the toilet is often in a separate room; that room is also referred to as the toilet rather than the bathroom. I amused my American wife’s sister once when she called to talk to my wife and I said “she’s in the toilet,” meaning the room rather than the vessel.

AmE “closet” vs BrE “cupboard” or (if it’s for clothes) “wardrobe”. There’s a scene in Shadowlands, the play about C.S. Lewis, in which a snarky colleague asks if the American edition of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will be called The Lion, the Witch and the Clothes Closet. The BrE term “cupboard” is also used for what in America is called a “cabinet”.

AmE “comforter” vs BrE “duvet” or “eiderdown”.

AmE “couch” vs BrE “sofa”.

AmE “counter” vs BrE “bench” (in the context of a kitchen; a shop counter is still a counter in Britain).

AmE “diaper” vs BrE “nappy” (from “napkin”).

AmE “drapes” vs BrE “curtains”.

AmE “duplex” vs BrE “semi-detached”.

AmE “faucet” vs BrE “tap”.

AmE “laundry” vs BrE “washing” (referring to the clothes to be washed; “the laundry” in BrE means a place where clothes are washed, not the clothes themselves).

AmE “living room” vs BrE “sitting room,” “lounge” or “drawing room” (“living room” is now also used). I have the impression that a sitting room is more downmarket than a drawing room, but do your own research.

AmE “pacifier” vs BrE “dummy” (hence the expression in New Zealand English, “to spit the dummy,” meaning to be loudly upset, like a baby who has spat out its dummy and is in full cry).

AmE “pitcher” vs BrE “jug”.

AmE “roommate” vs BrE “flatmate”. In many cases, people referred to as “roommates” in the US do not actually share a room, but a house or apartment in which they have separate rooms. You can be someone’s flatmate in BrE without living in a flat (apartment); if you share a freestanding house, you can still be called flatmates. “Housemate” should be understandable in both dialects.

AmE “stove” vs BrE “cooker” (specific to Britain; other English-speaking countries also say “stove”).

AmE “wash up” vs BrE “wash your hands” or “wash the dishes” (the latter can also be “do the washing up,” which is specifically British).

AmE “washcloth” vs BrE “flannel”.

AmE “yard” vs BrE “garden” (so called even if there are no plants in it). This is specific to the domestic meaning; a prison yard, for example, is still called a yard if you’re British.

On the Street/Going Out (see also Cars)

Block: I occasionally see books set in Britain with British characters talking about “blocks” (as in “his destination was several blocks away”). Most British cities, being pre-modern, are not laid out on a grid, so British people don’t usually measure urban distance in blocks. The BrE equivalent is probably “streets”; “his destination was several streets away,” but this doesn’t convey an exact distance, since British urban streets are not standard distances apart.

AmE “druggist” vs BrE “chemist”. “Pharmacist” should be understandable internationally, but may not be colloquial for your character.

AmE “hobo” vs BrE “tramp”.

AmE “line” vs BrE “queue” (if you’re talking about standing in line/queuing for something, such as to be served at a store/shop.)

AmE “movies” vs BrE “cinema,” referring to where you go to watch a “movie” (AmE) or “film” (BrE).

AmE “railroad” vs BrE “railway”.

AmE “sidewalk” vs BrE “pavement”. In New Zealand (possibly elsewhere), we say “footpath.” In the US, the “pavement” is the roadway, not the pedestrian area to the side of it.

AmE “store” vs BrE “shop”.

AmE “trash” or “garbage” vs BrE “rubbish”. Likewise, AmE “trash can” or “garbage can” vs BrE “rubbish bin” or “dustbin” (“dustbin” is specific to Britain).