whiskey vs whisky

Side by side

whiskey or whisky?

What is the difference between whiskey and whisky?

whiskey means "a liquor made from fermented mash of grain". whisky means "a liquor made from fermented mash of grain". They are pronounced identically — /ˈwɪski/ — so only the spelling and the meaning separate them.

Which is more common, whiskey or whisky?

Neither is markedly more common — both sit in the "Common" band.

Are whiskey and whisky pronounced the same?

Yes. Both are /ˈwɪski/, said WI-skee. Words that sound alike and are spelled differently are homophones, and they are the commonest source of written mix-ups in English.

Can whiskey and whisky be used in the same place in a sentence?

Both work as nouns, so they are grammatically interchangeable. That is exactly what makes the meaning difference worth checking.

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