Top 10 Commonly Confused English Words and Their Meanings [Part 01]

Learning English can be challenging, especially when you encounter words that look or sound similar but have entirely different meanings. Even native speakers often mix up these tricky pairs. To help you avoid common mistakes, we've compiled a list of the top 10 commonly confused English words along with their correct meanings and usage.

1. Affect (ක්‍රියාවක් ලෙස ඕනෑම දෙයක් බලපාන අර්ථය) vs. Effect (නාම පදයක් ලෙස වෙනස්කමක ප්‍රතිඵලය)

• Affect: A verb meaning to influence something.
  Example: The weather can greatly affect your mood.
• Effect: A noun meaning the result of a change.
  Example: The new law had a positive effect on the economy.

2. Compliment (නාම පදයක් හෝ ක්‍රියාවක් ලෙස ප්‍රශංසා හෝ ආදරය පළකිරීමක්) vs. Complement (නාම පදයක් හෝ ක්‍රියාවක් ලෙස දෙයක් සම්පූර්ණ කරන හෝ සමඟ හොඳින් ගැලපෙන දෙයක්)

• Compliment: A noun or verb meaning a polite expression of praise or admiration.
  Example: She gave him a compliment on his new haircut.
• Complement: A noun or verb meaning something that completes or goes well with something.
  Example: The red scarf complements her dress beautifully.

3. Then (කාලය හෝ අනුපිළිවෙල සඳහන් කිරීමේදී භාවිතා කරයි) vs. Than (දෙකක් සසඳන්න භාවිතා කරයි)

• Then: An adverb used to indicate time or sequence.
  Example: We went to dinner and then watched a movie.
• Than: A conjunction used to compare two things.
  Example: She is taller than her brother.

4. Your (ඔබට අයත් දෙයක් අර්ථවත් වේ) vs. You’re ("You are" - ඔබ)

• Your: A possessive adjective meaning something belongs to you.
  Example: Is this your book?
• You’re: A contraction of "you are."
  Example: You’re going to love this movie.

5. Its (එයට අයත් දෙයක්) vs. It’s ("It is" - එය වේ)

• Its: A possessive pronoun meaning belonging to it.
  Example: The dog wagged its tail.
• It’s: A contraction of "it is" or "it has."
  Example: It’s going to rain today.

6. Lose (වස්තුවක් අහිමි කර හෝ ජයග්‍රහණය අසාර්ථක වීම) vs. Loose (තද නැති)

• Lose: A verb meaning to misplace or fail to win.
  Example: Don’t lose your keys.
• Loose: An adjective meaning not tight or free from restraint.
  Example: The shirt is too loose.

7. Stationary (නැවතීමක් හෝ ස්ථාවරවීමක්) vs. Stationery (ලිවීමේ ද්‍රව්‍ය, විශේෂයෙන්ම කඩදාසි)

• Stationary: An adjective meaning not moving.
  Example: The car remained stationary at the red light.
• Stationery: A noun referring to writing materials, especially paper.
  Example: I bought some new stationery for my office.

8. Accept (ක්‍රියාවක් ලෙස කැමැත්තෙන් පිළිගැනීමක්) vs. Except (අඩංගු නොවන)

• Accept: A verb meaning to receive something willingly.
  Example: She graciously accepted the award.
• Except: A preposition meaning not including.
  Example: Everyone is invited except Tom.

9. Allusion (කෙළින් නොකියා ඇඟවීම) vs. Illusion (අසත්‍ය හෝ රැවටිල්ල)

• Allusion: A noun meaning an indirect reference.
  Example: The novel’s title is an allusion to Shakespeare.
• Illusion: A noun meaning a false idea or appearance.
  Example: The magician created the illusion of a floating woman.

10. Principle (ප්‍රතිපත්තිය) vs. Principal (විදුහල්පති)

• Principle: A noun meaning a fundamental truth or proposition.
  Example: She refused to compromise her principles.
• Principal: A noun meaning the head of a school or an adjective meaning most important.
  Example: The school’s principal gave a speech.

How to Avoid Confusion

• Context is Key: Understanding the context in which a word is used can often clarify its meaning.
• Practice and Repetition: Regularly practicing these words in sentences can help solidify your understanding.
• Use a Dictionary: Don’t hesitate to look up words when in doubt. A good dictionary can be your best friend in mastering these tricky pairs.