-er vs -or vs -ar Endings | 50 Words Sorted

🔤Commonly Misspelled

Words Ending in -er vs -or vs -ar

All three endings sound the same: ‘er’! Is it ‘teacher’ or ‘teachor’? ‘Doctor’ or ‘docter’? ‘Calendar’ or ‘calender’? Since they all sound identical, you must memorize which ending each word uses.

Good news: -ER is by far the most common (~80% of words). -OR is used for Latin-origin words and professions. -AR is the rarest. This page sorts 50 words by ending to help you see the patterns!

✅ -ER Words (Most Common!)

teacherteachor ✗⭐

TEE-cher

One who teaches

💡 TEACH + ER

“A kind teacher.”

computercomputor ✗⭐

kum-PYOO-ter

Electronic device

💡 COMPUTE + R → computER

“Use the computer.”

rememberrember ✗⭐

rih-MEM-ber

To recall

💡 RE + MEMBER → rememberER?? No! Just remember!

“Remember your homework.”

waterwator ✗⭐

WAW-ter

H2O

💡 WATER — just memorize!

“Drink water daily.”

brotherbrothor ✗⭐

BRUH-ther

Male sibling

💡 BROTHER — ER ending!

“My brother is older.”

mothermothor ✗⭐

MUH-ther

Female parent

💡 MOTHER — ER ending!

“My mother cooks well.”

fatherfathor ✗⭐

FAH-ther

Male parent

💡 FATHER — ER ending!

“My father works hard.”

weatherweathor ✗⭐⭐

WETH-er

Climate conditions

💡 WEATHER — ER ending!

“The weather is hot.”

togethertogethor ✗⭐

tuh-GETH-er

With each other

💡 TOGETHER — ER ending!

“Let’s work together.”

numbernumbor ✗⭐

NUM-ber

A count/figure

💡 NUMBER — ER ending!

“What’s your phone number?”

🏛️ -OR Words (Latin/Professional)

doctordocter ✗⭐⭐

DOK-ter

Medical professional

💡 DOCTOR — OR ending (Latin!)

“Visit the doctor.”

actoracter ✗⭐⭐

AK-ter

One who acts

💡 ACT + OR (Latin profession!)

“A famous actor.”

authorauther ✗⭐⭐

AW-ther

Writer of books

💡 AUTHOR — OR ending!

“My favourite author.”

governorgoverner ✗⭐⭐

GUV-ur-ner

State leader

💡 GOVERN + OR

“The state governor.”

visitorvisiter ✗⭐⭐

VIZ-ih-ter

One who visits

💡 VISIT + OR

“A museum visitor.”

inventorinventer ✗⭐⭐

in-VEN-ter

One who invents

💡 INVENT + OR

“A great inventor.”

professorprofesser ✗⭐⭐

pruh-FES-er

University teacher

💡 PROFESS + OR

“The professor lectured.”

conductorconducter ✗⭐⭐

kun-DUK-ter

One who conducts

💡 CONDUCT + OR

“The bus conductor.”

directordirecter ✗⭐⭐

dih-REK-ter

One who directs

💡 DIRECT + OR

“The film director.”

editorediter ✗⭐⭐

ED-ih-ter

One who edits

💡 EDIT + OR

“The newspaper editor.”

⭐ -AR Words (The Rarest!)

calendarcalender ✗⭐⭐

KAL-un-der

Date chart

💡 CALENDAR — AR ending!

“Check the calendar.”

popularpopuler ✗⭐⭐

POP-yoo-ler

Well-liked

💡 POPULAR — AR ending!

“A popular game.”

regularreguler ✗⭐⭐

REG-yoo-ler

Normal, usual

💡 REGULAR — AR ending!

“Regular practice.”

particularperticuler ✗⭐⭐

par-TIK-yoo-ler

Specific

💡 PARTICULAR — AR ending!

“Any particular reason?”

familiarfamilier ✗⭐⭐

fuh-MIL-ee-er

Well-known

💡 FAMILIAR — AR ending!

“A familiar face.”

similarsimiler ✗⭐⭐

SIM-ih-ler

Alike

💡 SIMILAR — AR ending!

“They look similar.”

grammargrammer ✗⭐⭐

GRAM-er

Language rules

💡 GRAMMAR — AR ending (not ER!)

“Good grammar matters.”

sugarsuger ✗⭐

SHUG-er

Sweet substance

💡 SUGAR — AR ending!

“Less sugar in tea.”

dollardoller ✗⭐

DOL-er

US currency

💡 DOLLAR — AR ending!

“One hundred dollars.”

collarcoller ✗⭐

KOL-er

Neck band

💡 COLLAR — AR ending!

“A shirt collar.”

👤 Profession Words: -ER vs -OR

singersingor ✗⭐

SING-er

One who sings

💡 SING + ER (English verb + ER)

“A talented singer.”

dancerdancor ✗⭐

DAN-ser

One who dances

💡 DANCE + R → dancer (ER)

“A graceful dancer.”

playerplayor ✗⭐

PLAY-er

One who plays

💡 PLAY + ER

“A cricket player.”

survivorsurviver ✗⭐⭐

sur-VY-ver

One who survives

💡 SURVIVE → survivOR (Latin!)

“A brave survivor.”

competitorcompetiter ✗⭐⭐

kum-PET-ih-ter

One who competes

💡 COMPETE → competitOR

“A strong competitor.”

narratornarrater ✗⭐⭐

nuh-RAY-ter

One who narrates

💡 NARRATE → narratOR

“The story narrator.”

spectatorspectater ✗⭐⭐

spek-TAY-ter

One who watches

💡 SPECTATE → spectatOR

“The spectators cheered.”

warriorwarrier ✗⭐⭐

WOR-ee-er

A fighter

💡 WAR → warriOR

“A brave warrior.”

counsellorcounseller ✗⭐⭐

KOWN-suh-ler

An adviser

💡 COUNSEL → counsellOR (British!)

“The school counsellor.”

emperoremperer ✗⭐⭐

EM-pur-er

A ruler

💡 EMPIRE → emperOR

“The Roman emperor.”

🎯 Tricky -ER/-OR/-AR Mix-ups

beggarbegger ✗⭐⭐

BEG-er

One who begs

💡 BEG + GAR (not GER!)

“Help the beggar.”

liarlier ✗⭐⭐

LY-er

One who lies

💡 LIE → liAR (not liER!)

“Don’t be a liar.”

burglarburgler ✗⭐⭐

BUR-gler

A thief

💡 BURGLAR — AR ending!

“The burglar was caught.”

scholarscholer ✗⭐⭐

SKOL-er

A learned person

💡 SCHOLAR — AR ending!

“A brilliant scholar.”

vinegarvineger ✗⭐⭐

VIN-uh-ger

Sour liquid

💡 VINEGAR — AR ending!

“Add vinegar to the salad.”

peculiarpeculier ✗⭐⭐

pih-KYOO-lee-er

Strange, odd

💡 PECULIAR — AR ending!

“A peculiar smell.”

amateuramature ✗⭐⭐

AM-uh-tur

Non-professional

💡 AMATEUR — French EUR ending!

“An amateur photographer.”

bachelorbatchelor ✗⭐⭐

BACH-uh-ler

Unmarried man/degree

💡 BACHELOR — OR ending!

“A bachelor’s degree.”

ancestorancestar ✗⭐⭐

AN-ses-ter

Forebear

💡 ANCESTOR — OR ending!

“Our ancestors.”

chancellorchanceller ✗⭐⭐

CHAN-suh-ler

Head of university/state

💡 CHANCELLOR — OR ending!

“The university chancellor.”

📐 5 Spelling Rules

-ER Is Most Common (~80%)

When in doubt, -ER is the safest guess. teacher, computer, water, brother, weather, number, together.

✅ teacher, computer, water, brother, weather, number, together

-OR for Latin Professions

Many profession words from Latin use -OR: doctor, actor, author, professor, director, editor, governor.

✅ doctor, actor, professor, director, editor, governor, inventor

-AR Is Rarest — Memorize These!

calendar, popular, regular, particular, familiar, similar, grammar, sugar, dollar, collar.

✅ calendar, popular, regular, grammar, sugar, collar, similar

English Verb + ER = Person

English verbs add -ER for the person: teach→teacher, sing→singer, dance→dancer, play→player.

✅ teacher, singer, dancer, player, worker, driver, writer

Latin Verb + OR = Person

Latin-origin verbs often use -OR: act→actor, direct→director, edit→editor, invent→inventor.

✅ actor, director, editor, inventor, narrator, spectator

🐝 Spelling Quiz

1. teach + ? = teacher

2. ‘Doctor’ ends in:

3. ‘Calendar’ ends in:

4. ‘Grammar’ ends in:

5. ‘Professor’ ends in:

6. Most common ending:

7. Latin profession words use:

8. ‘Popular’ ends in:

9. ‘Singer’ — English verb + :

10. ‘Liar’ ends in:

🔀 Word Scramble

Unscramble the letters

RDNAACLE

RMAGRAM

ROTCOD

RLUAPOP

LRAAIMIF

✏️ Fill in Missing Letters

Type the missing letters

calend_r

doct_r

gramm_r

popul_r

teach_r

❓ FAQ

How to know -er vs -or vs -ar?

-ER is default (~80%). -OR for Latin professions (doctor, actor, professor). -AR is rare — memorize the list (calendar, grammar, popular, similar, familiar). When in doubt, guess -ER.

Why does ‘doctor’ use -or?

‘Doctor’ comes from Latin ‘doctor’ (teacher). Latin profession words kept their -OR ending in English. Compare: English ‘teacher’ (teach+er) vs Latin ‘doctor’ (Latin origin keeps -or).

Is there a trick for -AR words?

Most -AR words have ‘ular’ or ‘ilar’ patterns: popular, regular, particular, familiar, similar, circular, molecular. If you see this pattern, it’s likely -AR.

What about ‘beggar’ and ‘liar’?

These are exceptions! You’d expect begg-ER and li-ER, but they use -AR. These are very old English words that developed unusual spellings over centuries.

Does British vs American matter here?

Mostly the same! One exception: counsellOR (British) vs counselOR (American). Also: colour (British) but color (American) — but that’s the -our/-or pattern, not -er/-or.

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