How to spell countries

hear it/'kəntri/nounSounds

What it means: Territories occupied by nations.

In a sentence: There are many countries in the world to explore and learn about.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear, and the order of ie. Often misspelled as countrys or countires.

Same family: country, countryside, nation, national, international. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: The word "country" comes from Old French "contrée," meaning a region or land, which itself came from Latin "contra" meaning "opposite" or "facing" (as in the land you see in front of you). "Countries" is simply the plural form, used when talking about more than one nation or land.

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.

Words like this

america · because · would · into · whole · should · garage · enough

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