Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell personnel

Personnel is spelled P-E-R-S-O-N-N-E-L. The part people get wrong: double N.

hear itper·son·nel/,pɜrsə'nɛl/nounAcademic

What it means: The staff of an organization.

In a sentence: The hospital personnel help take care of sick people.

The part people get wrong

Watch for double n.

Not to be confused with: personal, a different word.

Same family: personal, personally, personality, personhood, personage. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Personnel” comes from French, where it literally meant “the persons” of an organization. It entered English in the 1800s, and for many years companies used “personnel department” where we often say “human resources” or “HR” today.

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

Everyone has words they always get wrong. Spelling.School finds yours, shows you exactly why you miss them, and uses spaced repetition until you spell them right every time. Five minutes a day. Try five words without signing up.