Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell council

hear itcoun·cil/'kaʊnsəl/nounHidden vowels

What it means: a body serving in an administrative capacity

In a sentence: The council met to plan a fun park cleanup event.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as counsel or councill.

Sounds like, but is not: counsel. Same sound, different spelling and meaning.

Same family: councillor, councilor, councilman, councilwoman, council meeting. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: The word “council” comes from Old French “conseil,” meaning ‘assembly’ or ‘advice,’ and from Latin “concilium,” meaning ‘meeting’ or ‘gathering.’ It is closely related in origin to “counsel,” which explains why many people confuse the spellings of these two words.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

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