Seperate or Separate – Which Spelling is Correct

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What’s the Difference Between Separate and Seperate?

Separate and seperate might seem like alternate spellings of the same word, but only one of these spellings is correct. One of these is just a misspelling and not a word at all.

Separate usually acts as either a verb or an adjective meaning to move apart or simply apart, respectively.

• The divorced husband and wife had to be kept in separate rooms at family get-togethers, because they fought whenever they were near each other.

Seperate is not a word but rather just a common misspelling of the word separate.

• Some religious dietary laws require eggs and chicken to be kept seperate in food preparation. (incorrect spelling – use separate instead)

Let’s look at some of the ways to use, and not use, these words in English.

Using Separate in a Sentence

When to use separate: Separate can be a verb meaning to divide or move apart, an adjective meaning not together, or a noun spelled as separates that refers to outer clothing garments that can be worn in different combinations.

As an adjective, separate can also emphasize that something is distinct or unique.

For example,

• The family’s pet dog and cat needed to be separated while eating so they wouldn’t get into a fight. (verb)
• Please keep the dark clothing and light clothing separate when doing laundry. (adjective)
• This test consists of two separate parts. (adjective)
• The suit jacket and trousers are separates, meaning they don’t match exactly but still go well together. (noun)

Some important expressions involving separate include the following:

• separate the wheat from the chaff: show which or who has high quality and which or who has low
  • These academic tests will separate the wheat from the chaff.
• separate the boys from the men: learn who is strong, brave, or mature and who is not
  • Basic training will separate the boys from the men, and we will learn which people are fit to be good soldiers.
• separate but equal: a discriminatory law that didn’t allow black people and white people to use the same facilities and spaces
  • Despite the name, separate but equal, the schools for black students had less funding and resources than the schools for white students.

The pronunciation of the verb form and adjective form of this word is different for each. Both pronunciations have three syllables, and the first two syllables sound the same. However, the last syllable has a long a sound in the verb form and a short i sound in the adjective form.

• As a verb, separate is pronounced sep-er-ate.
• As an adjective, separate is pronounced sep-er-et.

Using Seperate in a Sentence

When to use seperate: Seperate is just an incorrect way to spell separate. Therefore, don’t use this spelling at all.

For example:

• The teachers moved the desks to be seperate from one another during the exam, so that the students couldn’t cheat. (incorrect spelling – use separate)
• I’m making two main courses for Thanksgiving, but I’ll keep each one seperate from the other, because one is vegetarian and the other is gluten-free. (incorrect spelling – use separate)

People probably misspell separate because the middle syllable in the word uses the schwa sound, which is an unstressed vowel sound. It is impossible to know which vowel corresponds to the schwa sound without memorizing the spelling of the word.

Remembering Separate vs. Seperate

It is important to remember that separate is the correct spelling whereas seperate has a spelling error.

In order to recall which word is right, and to avoid making a mistake, you can think of the a in the middle of separate as standing for accurate and the e in the middle of seperate as standing for error.

Outside Examples

• Four people were fatally shot, including a man shot by police, and 21 other people were wounded in separate shootings across Chicago from Saturday morning to early Sunday. –Chicago Tribune
• A separate plaque will have the names of 582 police officers, firefighters, construction workers, cleanup volunteers and others who spent time in the rubble of the World Trade Center in the days or months after the attacks and, years later, died of a variety of causes that they, their families or their doctors suspected were linked to toxic ash and smoke at the site. –New York Daily News
• And don’t plant them in the same hydro-zone (plants with the same watering needs) as other California natives and various average-water plants which take more water, as they’ll likely rot-out. Keep them in separate dry spots. –LA Times
• The governance committee also demanded that a well-connected Kuwaiti sheikh, Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, resubmit to an integrity check after he was identified as a co-conspirator in a separate United States soccer corruption case. –New York Times

Quiz: Separate vs. Separate

Instructions: Fill in the blank with the correct word, either seperate or separate, in the correct form.

1. The man wanted to know how to wear his ____________________ properly at his business meeting without looking foolish.
2. Keep these two chemicals ___________________ or there will be an explosion in the laboratory.
3. Don’t forget to _______________ the children when they start to get annoyed with one another.

See answers below.

Article Summary

Should I use separate or seperate? Only one of these two spellings is correct.

• Separate is the correct spelling for the verb and adjective referring to things that are apart.
• Seperate is a misspelling and, therefore, must always be avoided.

Knowing which of these is these spellings is correct can ensure that you appear professional and academic in your writing.

Answers

1. separates
2. separate
3. separate