Homophones

(Words often confused us)

Homophones: - “Homo” means same and “phone” means sound. Words that have same pronunciation but they have different spelling and meaning.

Homophones are basically those words, when pronounced, seems similar to another word but has a different spelling and meaning.

Shortcut : Same Pronunciation but (different spelling + meaning ).

For example: Carrot: A vegetable

Carat: A unit for measuring how pure gold is or how heavy jewels are.

They pronounce similar but have a different spelling and meaning.

Homophones are used extensively in poetry to make rhythmic effects and to put emphasis on something.

Types of Homophones

There are five different types of homophones:

1. Homograph

2. Homonym

3. Heterograph

4. Oronym

5. Pseudo-homophone.

Let us discuss them one by one.

1. Homograph: Some homophones are similar in spelling, but different in meanings. They are called homographs.

Shortcut: Same spelling but (different meaning).

For example: "hail" meaning an "frozen rain" and

"hail" meaning something that occurs in large numbers such as a hail of bullets.

2. Homonym: Some words have the same pronunciation but different meanings. These are called homonyms.

For example: Cite, sight and site.

Shortcut : Same Pronunciation but (different meaning ).

3. Heterograph: Homophones that have different spellings but are pronounced in the same way are called heterographs.

For example: "write" and "right"

4. Oronym: Homophones that have multiple words or phrases, having similar sounds are called oronyms.

For example: "ice-cream" and "I scream".

5. Pseudo-homophone: Homophones that are identical phonetically are called pseudo- homophones.

In this one of the pair of words is not a real word.

For example: "groan" and "grone".

Here is the list of homophones

List of Homophones
S.No	Homophones	Meaning in Hindi	Homophones	Meaning in Hindi
1	Air	हवा	Heir	उत्तराधिकारी
2	Ate	खाया	Eight	आठ
3	Be	होना	Bee	मधुमक्खी
4	Berth	सीट	Birth	जन्म
5	Blew	बहना/बजाना	Blue	नीला
6	Boar	जंगली सूअर	Bore	छेद करना या गड्डा
7	Born	पैदा होना	Borne	से जनित
8	Brake	रोकना	Break	टूटना
9	Buy	खरीदना	Bye	विदा कहना
10	Cast	वोट देना	Caste	जाति
11	Cell	कोठरी/बैटरी	Sell	बेचना
12	Cheap	सस्ता	Cheep	भिनभिनाना
13	Dear	प्रिय	Deer	हिरन
14	Dew	ओस, बूँद	Due	बकाया के कारण
15	Die	मरना	Dye	रंग करना
16	Fair	साफ/मेला	Fare	किराया
17	Feat	बहादुरी का कार्य	Feet	पैर
18	Flour	आटा	Floor	मंजिल/फर्श
19	Gait	चाल	Gate	मुख्य द्वार
20	Hair	बाल	Hare	खरगोश
21	Hear	सुनना	Here	यहाँ
22	Hour	घंटा/समय	Our	हमारा
23	Knew	जानना	New	नया
24	Knot	गांठ	Not	नहीं
25	Know	जानना/पहचान	No	नहीं
26	Lessen	कम करना	Lesson	पाठ/अध्याय
27	Made	बनाना	Maid	नौकरानी
28	Meat	मीट (खाने वाला)	Meet	मिलना
29	None	कोई नहीं	Nun	भिक्षुनी/महिला भिक्षु
30	One	एक	Won	जीत गया
31	Pain	दर्द	Pane	खिड़की का शीशा
32	Peace	शान्ति	Piece	टुकड़ा, हिस्सा
33	Plain	सपाट मैदानी	Plane	हवाई जहाज
34	Principal	प्राचार्य	Principle	सिद्धांत
35	Road	सड़क	Rode	सवारी करना
36	Sale	बिक्री	Sail	पाल (पानी के जहाज का)
37	Scene	दृश्य	Seen	देखा गया
38	Sea	समुद्र	See	देखना
39	Some	कुछ	Sum	सवाल/योग
40	Stationary	स्थिर/स्थायी	Stationery	लेखन सामग्री
41	Story	कहानी	Storey	मंजिल
42	Tale	कथा/कहानी	Tail	पूँछ
43	Tide	लहर	Tied	बँधा हुआ
44	Vain	व्यर्थ	Vane	फलक
45	Wait	इंतजार करना	Weight	वजन
46	Weak	कमजोर	Week	सप्ताह
47	Wood	लकड़ी	Would	चाहेंगे
48	Wax	मोम	Whacks	अजीब
49	Which	कौन सा	Witch	डायन

Conclusion: Homophones are basically those words, when pronounced, seems similar to another word but has a different spelling and meaning. Homophones are used extensively in poetry to make rhythmic effects.

Shortcut: Same Pronunciation but (different spelling + meaning).