Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell counsel

hear itcoun·sel/'kaʊnsəl/nounHidden vowels

What it means: Advice or guidance given to someone.

In a sentence: The teacher gave wise counsel to the students.

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as councel or councelor.

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

Same family: counselor, counselling, legal-counsel, counselled, counseling. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Counsel” comes from Old French “conseil,” meaning ‘advice’ or ‘deliberation,’ and from Latin “consilium,” meaning ‘plan’ or ‘judgment.’ Over time, English extended the meaning to refer not just to advice, but also to the lawyer who gives that legal advice and speaks in court.

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.

Words like this

Spelling.School is a spaced-repetition spelling practice: ten minutes a day, every word spoken aloud, every miss explained, and every word coming back just before you would forget it. Try five words without signing up.