How to spell business
A Year 3 and 4 statutory spelling word, with the tricky part explained and a tip that makes it stick.
The answer
business
B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S
The part to watch: busy + ness, with the y changed to i. The underlined letters are the ones most people get wrong.
The tricky part
Business is busy + ness. The y of busy changes to i before the ending, and that i is silent when we speak. It ends with a double s.
Business is one of the words on the Year 3 and 4 list with a smaller word behind it. Each of these words is built from, or related to, a smaller word you may already know. Find the smaller word and most of the spelling follows.
Common mistakes with business
- Wrong: buisnessRight: business
- Wrong: busnessRight: business
- Wrong: bussinessRight: business
A way to remember it
Say it in your spelling voice as "bus-i-ness". It is a bus, an i, and "ness".
Business in syllables
busi · ness
Business has 2 syllables. Say each one as you write it. Said in two beats, "biz-ness", but spelt as bus-i-ness, with an i nobody says.
In a sentence
My aunt runs a small business selling cakes.
Business on the statutory list
Business is on the Year 3 and 4 statutory word list in the national curriculum for England, printed there as busy/business. Children are taught these words in Years 3 and 4, when they are 7 to 9.
From the same entry
Test yourself
A short spelling test that starts with business, then nine more words from the Year 3 and 4 list, read aloud. It works in your browser.
More words with a smaller word behind it
These words from the Year 3 and 4 list share the same pattern as business.
More words
Questions parents ask
What is the plural of business?
Businesses. Business ends in ss, so it takes -es.
Spelling is one part of the picture
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