Homophones in English, distinguishing between homonyms, homophones and homographs

Homophones in English, distinguishing between homonyms, homophones and homographs

Homophones in English are the words that make you the most difficult to understand. They are two words with the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings.

1. WHAT ARE HOMONYMS?

The term “homonym” comes from the prefix  “homo-,” meaning same, and the suffix “-nym,” meaning name. Therefore, homophones in English is a word that has the same name as another word, meaning that the two words look and sound identical.

Homophones are common English words that speakers use in their daily conversations. We often hear the words address, well, tire, bark, wear, pair… However, most of us wonder whether we are using them correctly because we are not sure about their meanings. Learn homophones can be a bit difficult even for connoisseurs and is always a challenge for students learning English.

So, in this article, we will learn about homophones in English and why learning them is essential if you want to become a good English speaker.

1.1 Why is learning homophones necessary?

As an English speaker, learning homophones is extremely important because it not only helps you improve your vocabulary base but also significantly improve your English grammar. In idiom, you are hitting two birds with one stone.

For example, the word address can refer to a place (noun) but it can also sometimes mean “speak to” (verb).

Also, the word “bark”. Bark means the outer layer of a tree (noun) but it can also refer to the bark of a dog (noun/verb).

From the above examples, EnglishTop Make sure you understand the word definition and function of homophones. And of course, there is no specific technique that helps us easily learn English homophones other than looking them up, finding their meanings and using them continuously.

Sure, the homophones in English They are easy to remember because they have the same spelling, but you need to be careful when using them in speaking because the word stress can change.

Homophones in English, distinguishing between homonyms, homophones and homographs

1.2 Examples of homophones

Light

A. Opposite of dark

Mary has blue eyes and light brown hair.

B. Opposite of heavy

I could carry my luggage because it’s just pretty light.

Trip

A. A travel experience

I’m going on a business trip to London next month.

B. When your foot hits an object, and you lose balance and fall

I broke when my leg when I tripped on my shoelace yesterday.

Change

A.To transform / (noun) A transformation

The internet has changed the way people interact and communicate.

B.The money you receive back after paying more than an item costs

My friend let me kept the $5 change after I bought her a glass of lemonade.

Duck

A. A bird that likes to swim in the water

Children like to feed the ducks in the pond at the park.

B. To put your head/body down quickly–often in response to some danger

The boy threw a rock at my head, but I ducked so it didn’t hit me.

Bank

A. A place to keep your money

My brother works in a bank as a teller.

B. The inclined land on the edgeof a river = “riverbank”

They found seashells near the river bank. Wave

A. When the water of the ocean rises and crashes down on the beach

The waves in Hawaii are big, which makes it popular for Surfing.

B.To greet or say goodbye to someone by moving your hand

I waved goodbye to my friend as the bus departed.

2. Distinguish HOMONYMS, HOMOPHONES, HOMOGRAPHS

Homophones in English, distinguishing between homonyms, homophones and homographs

Homonyms, Homophones and Homographs 

(Homophones) are three terms that are difficult to distinguish in English. Despite having identical prefixes, these three English terms have differences.

Let's look at their definitions.

2.1 Homophones

If you're not careful, figuring out the difference between Homonyms and Homophones in English can be difficult. Similar to Homonyms, Homophones in English are words that sound similar, thanks to the important suffix “-phone” which means sound. Homophones are words that sound the same but have different meanings and their spellings are often different.

For example, consider the words “to,” “two,” and “too.” “To” is a preposition, “two” is a count while “too” is an adverb.Other examples of homophones:- allowed / aloud
- for / four
- bored / board

2.2 Homographs

Homonyms and Homographs are pairs of similar words. Homographs are words with similar spellings, as shown by the suffix “-graph,” which means written. These words have the same spelling but different meanings and often different pronunciations.

For example: Consider the words “short” and “short”. As an adjective, the word “short” describes a small length, distance, or height. Besides, the word “short” also means not having enough of something.

Other examples of homographs:- bass (a kind of stringed instrument) / bass (a fish found in the river or sea) - bat (a specially shaped piece of wood used for hitting the ball in some games) / bat (a flying mammal)

3. SUMMARY

Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs in English are very similar. And because they are so similar, most English students and even native English speakers are easily confused with these sets of words. The bottom line of the difference between these three terms will depend on who you are asking.

Is a difficult part of English, homophones often confuses learners because they are not familiar with other meanings of a word. To make things easier to understand and comprehensive, it is better for us to study the usage and definition of the word first. If you can do this, word learning Homonyms, Homophones and Homographs in English will become much easier.

In short, EnglishTop believe that learning these homophones not only helps you improve your English vocabulary, taking your level to a higher level, but also helps you understand the complex qualities of the English language.