How to spell phenomenon

hear itphe·nom·e·non/fɪ'nɑmə,nɑn/nounLong vowels

What it means: An observable event or occurrence.

In a sentence: A rainbow is a beautiful phenomenon in the sky.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as phenomenom or phenonemon.

Same family: phenomena, phenomenal, phenomenally, phenomenology, event. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Phenomenon” comes from the Greek word “phainomenon,” meaning “that which appears” or “that which is seen.” Its plural form, “phenomena,” keeps the original Greek pattern, which is why it doesn’t take a regular English -s ending.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

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Words like this

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