How to spell happiness

hear ithap·pi·ness/'hæpinɪs/nounPrefixes and work

What it means: State of well-being characterized by emotions of joy.

In a sentence: The puppy's wagging tail shows its happiness.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double p and double s, and an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as happyness or hapiness.

Same family: happily, unhappy, happier, happiest. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Happiness” comes from the Middle English word “hap,” which meant luck or chance, so long ago happiness was closely linked to good fortune rather than just feeling good.

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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