Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell burn

hear itburn/bɜrn/verbLong vowels

What it means: To damage something by fire.

In a sentence: Be careful not to burn your toast!

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as bern or bearn.

Same family: burns, burned, burnt, burning, burner. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: Burn comes from Old English "byrnan" or "beornan," meaning to be on fire or to consume by fire. The word is related to old Germanic words for fire and heat, showing how long people have needed a word to describe this painful feeling.

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