What riles me up is people that can't tell the difference between affect and effect.

There are LOTS of similarly-sounding words that get confused.

One that always makes me shake my head is when someone claims that "tips" stands for "to insure proper service".

 

"Bair"? A basket of air?

bair

1. :: noun
   Food or other lure placed on a hook or in a trap and used in the taking of fish, birds, or other animals.
2. :: noun
   Something, such as a worm, used for this purpose.
3. :: noun
   An enticement; a temptation.
4. :: noun
   Archaic A stop for food or rest during a trip.

 

There are LOTS of similarly-sounding words that get confused.

One that always makes me shake my head is when someone claims that "tips" stands for "to insure proper service".

that ... and "fornication under consent of the king" , among many others ... I like to browse every once in a while through the merrian-webster's website, lots to learn about etymology and strange and unusual words.

 

That one gets me and I always see it when someone else does it. But I'll still get it wrong myself. Their, there, and there are another one I'll get wrong despite knowing better AND watching myself to be careful. It's almost like worrying about falling while skiing - the more you worry, the more likely a fall.

I think you meant "their, there, and they're".

I do the same thing. Other common typos I make are "your" versus "you're" and "our" vs. "are".

Then there's "since" and "sense" -- I never mess up and use "cents", since it's used so infrequently that it just wouldn't make sense.

There are certainly a number of others.

What's always amazed me -- even though I have a pretty good understanding of the mental mechanisms involved -- is how I can type something and proof read it several times and be satisfied that I got everything fixed, then print it (or post it) and immediately catch several that I didn't. Sometimes I spot it immediately when displayed in its final form, but when I go back to the source document I can't find it and I have to go back to the final form (where I find it right away) and then carefully track it back to it's location in the source document. It's all because my brain "knows" what it's supposed to say and since it "knows" that I typed it correctly in the source document, when I look at the source document, my brain "fixes" it so that my mind actually sees what is supposed to be there, and not what is actually there. This is a great survival trait for humanity, but it sure gets in the way at times.

 

Of course, we do know that this is not specific to English. It happens in every language.

There are different ways to pronounce ma in Chinese and each has a different meaning.

https://www.thoughtco.com/four-tones-of-mandarin-2279480#:~:text=Here is the word ‘ma’ with numbers and,or mǎ 4 Fourth tone: ma4 or mà

Pronunciation Tips
As mentioned earlier, tones are used to determine which Mandarin Chinese word is being implied. For example, the meaning of mǎ (horse) is very different from mā (mother).

Thus when learning new vocabulary, it is really important to practice both the pronunciation of the word and its tone. The wrong tones can change the meaning of your sentences.

The following table of tones has sound clips which allow you to hear the tones. Listen to each tone and try to mimic it as closely as possible.

Pinyin	Chinese Character	Meaning	Sound Clip
mā	媽 (trad) / 妈 (simp)	mother	audio
má	麻	hemp	audio
mǎ	馬 / 马	horse	audio
mà	罵 / 骂	scold	audio

You want to make sure that you don't call someone's mother a horse.

 

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Of course, we do know that this is not specific to English. It happens in every language.

There are different ways to pronounce ma in Chinese and each has a different meaning.

https://www.thoughtco.com/four-tones-of-mandarin-2279480#:~:text=Here is the word ‘ma’ with numbers and,or mǎ 4 Fourth tone: ma4 or mà

Pronunciation Tips
As mentioned earlier, tones are used to determine which Mandarin Chinese word is being implied. For example, the meaning of mǎ (horse) is very different from mā (mother).

Thus when learning new vocabulary, it is really important to practice both the pronunciation of the word and its tone. The wrong tones can change the meaning of your sentences.

The following table of tones has sound clips which allow you to hear the tones. Listen to each tone and try to mimic it as closely as possible.

Pinyin	Chinese Character	Meaning	Sound Clip
mā	媽 (trad) / 妈 (simp)	mother	audio
má	麻	hemp	audio
mǎ	馬 / 马	horse	audio
mà	罵 / 骂	scold	audio

You want to make sure that you don't call someone's mother a horse.

All those examples can be translated to nag.

 

 

School psychologist asks the mother, after seeing her son's drawing: " Is he suicidal"?

 

Assuming sail and sale are homophonic with seal (many foreigners cannot detect the distinction), broad new possibilities open up.

Are you allowed to use those words where you live?

 

One that always makes me shake my head is when someone claims that "tips" stands for "to insure proper service".

Never heard that one.

Brake / Break
Sine / Sign
Sail / Sale

Few of my own.

 

 

 

 

View attachment 289686

Be still my heart! Is that Judy Garland?

 

Normally I can't stand stupid people, but this is too amusing to ignore.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KjtU4D0uD0Q

 

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The power is always on in Canada.

 

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