Why Everyone Writes "Seperate"
How to spell separate correctly? It's the second A that gets people. When you say "separate" out loud, that middle syllable sounds like "seper-ut" — the A makes a schwa sound (ə) that's nearly identical to a short E. Your ears tell you to write E, but the correct letter is A.
The word comes from the Latin separare, meaning "to pull apart" — built from se- (apart) and parare (to make ready). That Latin par root is why there's an A in the middle, not an E. The same root gives us "prepare" and "repair."
Common misspellings:
The Trick to Remember It Forever
There's always
A RAT
in
sepA·R·A·Te
Once you see the rat hiding in separate, you'll never accidentally write "seperate" again. The letters A-R-A-T are right there in the middle.
Breaking It Down
Two ways to crack this word open and see why those A's belong:
The PAR in the middle comes from Latin parare (to make ready). The same root appears in prepare, repair, and compare. It's always PAR, never PER.
The vowels form a perfect mirror: E-A-A-E. Two A's in the center, flanked by two E's on the outside. Symmetrical. If you remember the pattern is a palindrome, you'll always get it right.
Practice Sentences
Please separate the colored pencils from the markers.
The two towns are separate but share the same school district.
She decided to separate her homework into two piles.
It's important to keep your personal and school email separate.
Spot the correct spelling:
Related Words with the Same Pattern
These words share the same Latin parare root — and they all have that same A where you might expect an E:
Same PAR root — to make ready beforehand
The noun form — still has both A's
Same PAR root — to set things side by side
From Latin reparare — to make ready again
Pattern tip: Words built on the Latin parare root always use A, not E. If you can hear "par" in a word — prepare, separate, compare — write A.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the correct spelling of separate?
The correct spelling is S-E-P-A-R-A-T-E. It has two A's in the middle — not E's. The word comes from Latin separare, meaning "to pull apart." Remember: there's a rat in separate.
Why is separate so hard to spell?
The second vowel in separate sounds like a short E when spoken aloud, but it's actually an A. This mismatch between pronunciation and spelling makes "seperate" (with an E) the most common misspelling. It's consistently ranked among the top 10 most misspelled English words.
What's a trick to remember how to spell separate?
The classic mnemonic is: there's A RAT in sepARATE. The letters A-R-A-T sit right in the middle of the word. You can also remember that the vowels form a mirror pattern — E-A-A-E. For more spelling tricks like this, try practicing on SpellCamp, which uses spaced repetition to make tricky spellings stick.