Homophones vs. Homographs vs. Homonyms
The English language is a unique one. And some of the reasons for it being so unique is the elements you have in it. In this post, I will be talking about one such fine example.
Here, we will look at the Homographs, Homophones, Homonyms and the intermediate difference between them.
Let’s get started.
Homonyms Homophones Homographs
Both homophones and homographs are two different types of Homonyms. Some words that sound the same but actually are different in meaning. Refer to the words that are spelled the same but actually they have different meaning.
E.g., Homophones, Homographs E.g., to, too, and two E.g., Bow of ship and bow of and arrow
Homophones vs. Homographs vs. Homonyms: So What’s the Deal?
So, let’s look at the simplest explanation of these three words.
Homophones are nothing but some words that sound the same but actually are different in meaning.
Homographs refer to the words that are spelled the same but actually they have different meaning.
Basically, both homophones and homographs are two different types of Homonyms.
Want to know some more information? Then let’s dig a little deeper.
Homophones: These are words which can be pronounced alike but they mean different. Some of the most common examples are to, too, and two.
These three have same pronunciation but they mean different things.
Homographs: It refers to words having the same spelling but they are actually different in meaning or derivation or pronunciation. Sometimes they can sound a bit similar. Like, bow of ship and Bow of and arrow.
Homonym actually refer to both homophones and homographs or either one of them.
How to Differentiate Them?
Since these words can be difficult to remember, you can take some help from etymology. Three of these words are formed with the combining form homo which means “one and the same; similar; alike,” but sometimes it may have an additional root. The word homophone comes from Greek –phōnos which means “sounding”; homograph is from the Greek graphene which means “to write” and homonym is from the Greek Onyema which means “name”.
Some Examples:
Like mentioned, Homophones sound the same, but they have different spelling.
For example, carp (to complain needlessly) and carp (the fish)
- He felt sad because his boss carped at him.
- John wanted to fish a big carp fish.
Bear in mind, Homographs have the same spelling but do not necessarily get pronounced the same way.
For example,
Bank (a financial establishment)
Bank (the slope bordering a river)
- I need to go to the bank and deposit my paycheque for the month.
- The police found the dead body near the bank of Ganges.
However,
Sewer (a conduit for waste)
Sewer (a person who sews)
These two sounds quite different:
- The dirt had blocked the sewer drains.
- We had to call expert sewers to clean the whole mess up.
Conclusion:
There you have it, all the basic information you need to know to differentiate between the Homographs, Homophones, and Homonyms along with examples. If you have any further queries regarding this then feel free to mention them in the comments section.
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