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Has someone ever told you that you used a wrong word? Well, you're not alone. Many people confuse terms without even knowing it. You might think that it's usually the English language learners who get the names of concepts or objects all mixed up, but it's not unusual for native speakers to get tangled up in misconceptions too.

The truth is, some terms seem so synonymous that people don't even bother to look them up. So, if you ever find yourself in an argument whether muffins have icing or whether tofu and panner are the same thing, it might mean that you need to do some research. But no worries. This time we've got you covered. Inspired by a Scoop Whoop post we dug around and collected some of the most confusing words to explain the differences between them.

Check out if you've made any of these mistakes and let us know in the comments.

(h/t)

#4

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

PublicDomainPictures , Foto-Rabe Report

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athornedrose
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

or as we were taught, poisonous: hurts if you bite it, venomous: hurts if it bites you.

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#8

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

Pexels , pen_ash Report

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Lucida
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In my language (Swedish) both have the same name but with "land" and "water" at the beginning of the word, like "waterturtle" and "landturtle".

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#10

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

Alaska Fisheries Science Center , GFDL&CC Report

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Marlene Riethmüller
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

had been told 'shrimp' is used more in American English, while 'prawn' is favoured in British English

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#20

Commonly Misused Words

adege , Hans Report

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Lizard Queen
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"All fungi are edible. Some fungi are only edible once." - Terry Pratchett

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#22

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

Luctheo , Annca Report

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Hans
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This does not really belong here, does it? A champagne is still a sparkling wine, so technically it is a specialisation, not two thing that are confused but essentially are different.

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#23

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

Stanze , Skeeze Report

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Neeraj Jha
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Their expression say that they are disappointed in you that you didn't know this.

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#25

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

Linda De Volder , Dmitry Dzhus Report

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Hans
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Do not tell this to all this alternative right movements who claim that there are certain "people" native to places, and that their intermingling with other "races" will weaken the national identity. We may form nations and e may come from different ethnicies, but we are all humans!

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#26

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

seagul , mareke Report

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Rue Granger
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"I never know... What's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?" "Stalagmite has an 'm' in it"

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#27

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

earth247woman , Illuvis Report

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Cactuar Jon
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do people not know the difference between a butterfly and a moth???

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#28

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

willems_87 , Nahal08 Report

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N G
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What do you call a Gorilla that has a Banana stuck in each ear ? Answer: Anything you like..... because he can't hear you

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#30

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

Ben_Kerckx , fsHH Report

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Rue Granger
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm pretty sure people know this. Right? Or is it just me?

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#31

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

BubbleJuice , kathydetweiler Report

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Dian Ella Lillie
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I did a Masters and a PhD in anurans. The distinction between 'frogs' and 'toads is arbitary. Not all dryish anurans are short-leggedish, or smoothish, or stringy-eggedish, and not all mucussy anurans are the obverse in one or more of those characteristics. The notion of frogs versus toads is simply a gradient of perceptions with no biological significance. And the teeth thing that another commernter claimed is a nonsense...

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#32

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

NickRivers , webandi Report

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Dian Ella Lillie
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wasps can be pollinators - there are many species of orchids whose flower structures are predicated on exactly this fact. Look it up.

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#34

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

GLady , Dennis Candy Report

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Neeraj Jha
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am not sure about this.. The one on the right is also eaten as a fruit in my natives.. It's more like a different variety of Banana..

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#35

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

Wounds_and_Cracks , Couleur Report

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Mary-Jane Scharnick
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

in S.A the tangerines are called naartjies. pronounced 'nar-chies' . think it comes from the Afrikaans language.

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#36

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

SofieZborilova , MartinStr Report

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Dian Ella Lillie
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Like other differences on this list, the distinctions are arbitrary and not consistent. There is not biological difference between kangaroos and wallabies, save size, and small kangaroos and be smaller than large wallabies. Some wallaby species are distinctly plain in colour. My bona fides? I'm a biologist, with three species of macropod that that come out to graze on my paddocks every night.

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#37

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

Alexas_Fotos , Glavo Report

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Cactuar Jon
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Rats are amazing, intelligent creatures and it's about time people stopped being scarred of them and start educating themselves about them. They deserve respect.

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#39

Commonly-Misused-Words-Pairs-Different-Meaning

RitaE , Mooss Report

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Neeraj Jha
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought it's more of US/UK thing. UK calls it biscuits while US cookies.. no?

Becca The Bear
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No we have biscuits and cookies here. Biscuits like Rich Teas and Digestives and stuff whereas cookies are soft

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Kathleen Gaudenzi
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

actually in the US the left is a cracker and the right a cookie. a biscuit is a bread/roll type thing

Abdul Khan
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I call BS! Biscuits are big and fluffy. Covered in honey or sausage gravy. These biscuits are crackers, and the cookies are cookies, yum. Hello from TEXAS! Bear in mind most of these are just linguistic differences. I'd never own a lorry, but I'd never be without a truck.

Carl Watson
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought cookies were things I had to keep blocking on the web.

Ian MacFarlane
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I still like cookies that are not soft. But that's just how the cookie crumbles. Ginger snaps as an example or Famous Amos chocolate chip ones.

Tom Dibble
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the US, at least the locations I've been in (New England and West Coast), "biscuit" is a savory-to-sweet fluffy, non-yeasty, bread roll. Typically made with baking powder or equivalent constituents. "cracker" is savory-to-sweet thin crunchy bread product. "Cookie" is either soft or crunchy, always sweet. I think the post is discussing the British distinction between "biscuit" and "cookie" only.

Teleri Nyfain
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Britain these are both biscuits. In most of the US, this shows crackers & cookies - no biscuits in sight.

Xiaolaohu
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In America, biscuits are like bread or rolls, made with baking powder instead of yeast. We don't use the term biscuit in general for any kind of cookie.

Kathleen Gaudenzi
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this must be british...biscuits in the US are a roll/bread type thing

Analyn Lahr
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The ones on the left look like fancy crackers to this American.

Sharon Vaughn
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the US those would be crackers and cookies. Biscuits are a form of bread like rolls. In the South we like them for breakfast with egg, sausage, ham, cheese, and/or bacon in them.

A.R.
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ok now this one is not quite correct. Depending on where you are from..in the US, cookies are always sweet and can be hard if you bake them long enough. Biscuits are always soft and are savory often used like bread, they are eaten at meal times, sometimes covered in gravy. Of course then you have crackers and those are a totally different treat. In the UK and Australia, it's all switched around. Do they even have cookies there? I thought their idea of a cookie is a biscuit. Cant remember as its been years since I was in OZ.

serge
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Modern English stems from old French.....bis cuit meaning baked twice.....how the word is used or what it is used for has nothing to do with it's culinary origin.

Bruce Robb
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the US, biscuits are soft and not sweet. Frequently topped with butter and jam or jelly.

BREAK YOUr perceptions
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

nope nope nope. not correct for all English speaking. Cookies tend to be sweet. Biscuits depending on the country can be savory or flaky or fluffy.

Aumjaya Kishatriya
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If that's the case, most of the "cookies" here are biscuits, our "soft cookies" are cookies, and the "biscuits" like you get at KFC, Popeye's, etc., are actually cookies.

The Famous Junkie
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oreos are biscuits in the U.K. cookies are the same as the pic on the right

Teresa Taylor
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The photo on the left are what we call “crackers.” The photo on the right are what we call “cookies.” What we call “biscuits” are similar to what British call scones and Irish refer to as soda bread. However, our biscuits are a bit sweeter than traditional soda bread (not so much soda in them). FYI: your crumpets are similar our “hoe cakes.”

Marlowe Fitzpatrik
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

...and that's how it should be! Except of course in the Christmas season, because suddenly there are Plätzchen! O.o

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Jacqui Weekes
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

More of a US difference, down under they are all biscuits, with a descriptive adjective prior.

Lisa Shelton
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Biscuits are a savory baked good and cookies are a sweet baked good. Those crazy people in the UK are all sorts of wrong ;)

Marcia Cash
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

no, my oatmeal cookies are very crunchy, thank you. Biscuits are served with eggs and gravy, cookies can be soft, chewy, or crunchy.

Hugh Walter
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Rubbish, just rubbish, one's an Americanism, the other is pan-European and most of the rest of the World, who haven't picked-up on baggie, cookie, buddy at al....

Camilla Koutsos
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We call cookies biscuits, and biscuits crackers. Cookies may be crisp though. Gingernuts are rock hard, if they’re made right :)

Laura
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes you are right. But what do English call the thing under your sausage gravy? I never ate that over there, if it even exists, so I don't know

Don Lawson
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

NOPE. Biscuits are savory (and frequently hot, soft and flaky) and cookies are sweet (and frequently crisp). That thing on the left is a cracker if savory or a cookie if sweet. I knew we kicked you Brits off of our continent for a reason! JK. :)

Annamie Murray
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure. In America they are, but in Britain they are a dessert biscuit designed for dunking in your coffee or tea. Cookies are also very popular and great with a long cold glass of milk. We have savoury crackers too good for eating with cheese after a meal, and what we call crispbread which is a nice snack with cheese, salad, or even peanut butter. The most popular here is called Ryvita by name. Incidentally, Scottish Shortbread is eaten like a biscuit or cookie, yet is neither really. We don't have any equivalent to the biscuits and gravy you have in America, although our gravy is brown in colour and what you call gravy is a savoury white sauce to us. The nearest thing we have to your biscuit, is a scone, and can be savoury, but most people associate it with a cream tea, and it is eaten with jam and cream.

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RiderAndKallen
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There should be one with stockings and pantyhose. Stockings only cover from toe to thigh. Pantyhose covers from toe to waist.

vicki neus
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The ones on the left are probably solid and sweet and not what Americans call crackers. Except for graham crackers, which are the only example of a sweet 'cracker' I can think of.

David Christensen
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The UK-parliament deffinition is, that when a biscuit get to old it gets soft - and a cookie gets hard.

The Laugh Fan
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Isn't that (also?) the difference between biscuit and cake - used to solve the Jaffa Cake conundrum? I can see that a soft cookie would get hard as it gets old though. Sigh, now I want a Jaffa Cake...

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Christine M Quigley
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I thought the British & Irish referred to all cookies as biscuits- which has a totally different meaning in America- I mean, you don't want to have sausage gravy with your cookies...

Mare Freed
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cookies can be hard or soft. Think of gingersnaps. Also, most US commercial cookies are hard, like Oreos, Nutter Butter, Chips Ahoy, etc.

Roberta Morrison
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This doesn't work. Many types of cookies are crunchy and biscuits can be soft. Cookies are sweet, biscuits are more savory.

Sally Wakasugi
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those biscuits look sort of like crackers. Are crackers supposed to be salty and biscuits sweeter?

Brenda Pereira
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Biscuits are round, approx 1-1 1/2 inches tall, and need butter like bread. Best eaten warm with sausage gravy over the top. British biscuits are crackers. Cookies are sweet, snacks items, hopefully home made!

Marian Adams
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

if all biscuits are crunchy how can a variety of biscuit be soft? this makes no sense.

Daniel Sipes
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In America, the ones on the right are actually crackers, because they are crunchy and crack. :]

Ronda Ross
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where I'm from a biscuit is a flaky tense roll. Cookies can be soft or crunchy. Crunchy things like the left photo is called a cracker. It's all where you're from, I think.

diane a
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

some UK firms call some types of their biscuits cookies - just because they looy like them - they are crunchy

Bridget Wright
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

NO. It is cookies. "C" is for cookies, that's good enough for me-Cookie Monster

Eric Mac Fadden
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a war around here (BR), almost a killing floor about it.... if someone from Rio de Janeiro meets a São Paulo's friend automatically they become mortal enemies....

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