Add your H1B Visa Case Status to H1B Visa Tracker Post your Questions in New Q & A Forum
Common American English Words in daily life vs British Words — Part II
I have wrote an article few months back : Common American English words used in daily life vs British English equivalents. This article is a continuation of the same article with few more American words used in Daily life with their British equivalents. 
I am not trying to write a dictionary or anything here. Just trying to share few words that I thought were different to me since I came to US.
Common words in Daily routine/ activities |
||
| American English word | British English equivalent | Explanation and usage. |
| Cilantro | Coriander | When you go to buy vegetables, you have to look for cilantro leaves |
| Grocery Store | Super Market | You find vegetables and all the house supplies in a typical grocery store. It can be used synonymous with super market. |
| Restaurant | Hotel | In US, Hotel means the place you stay for night like Marriot. |
| Cross Walk | Zebra Crossing | The path for crossing roads at Traffic lights |
| Traffic Lights | Traffic Signal | In US, they use the word Traffic lights or Just the word Lights to refer to Traffic Signal |
| Soda | Cold Drink | Soda refers to anything like Coke, Pepsi, Mountain Dew, etc |
| Okra | Lady Finger | Typically you look for Okra in a Grocery store. |
| Egg plant | Brinjal | If you use brinjal, people in US do not understand. So, use Egg plant |
| Peanuts | Ground nuts | Peanuts are common snack and it is also used in phrases too. Like “that income is just peanuts”. It means very less. |
| Grade / Percent | Marks | You do not see professors using the word Marks at all. They use either percent or grade. |
| Sidewalk | Pavement / Foot path | You walk to home on sidewalk in American English. |
| Battery | Cell / Cells | You use batteries for charging. In US, they do not understand if you refer cell. They think cell phone. |
| Eraser | Rubber | To erase stuff written by pencil you use Eraser in US. Rubber means Condom in America. Do not ask someone in class, “I need rubber”. People will look at you and say What ? |
| Mixer / Blender | Mixi or Mixie | You use the word mixer or Blender in US to refer to mixi. It is used for mixing flour, blending, etc |
| Refrigerator | Fridge | I have never seen anyone use Fridge. They use Freezer or Refrigerator to store vegetables and freezer to make ice or store frozen vegetables. |
| Bell pepper | Capsicum | The big green pepper / chili you cook ! |
| Chili | In US, Chili is a dish made of ground beef, chili powder, tomatoes and beans. Be careful about the context of usage. | |
| Jalapenos | Green Chili | Green Chili are referred to as Jalapenos. They are a little bigger than regular green chili. |
| Sneakers | Tennis Shoe / Sports Shoe | Sneakers are often used to refer to running shoes in US. |
| Tortilla | It is like chapatti made of wheat or corn flour, but primarily of Mexican origin. Pronounced as Tortia. | |
| Bubbler | Drinker Water Fountain | Bubbler is a just a water fountain that provides drinking water in public places. You do not use Glass or anything. You just drink off the fountain. |
| Pills | Tablets | in US, you take pills if you are sick. It could be for common cold or allergies, etc |
| Pants | Trousers | You buy a pair of pants in US. There is no Jeans pant, you just refer as Jeans |
| Clippers | Nail Cutter | You cut your nails by clippers in US |
If you can think of any other common American words that are different from british English, just add them as comments. I will write an article on some common American phrases sometime that I thought were new to me.
Do you like the article ?
Like and Give Google +1 for this Article :
{ 70 comments… read them below or add one }
bed-meaning from british and american english
It’s really cool .. I liked it … thanks for sharing friend
it’s cool… I liked it …thanks for sharing
May I just mention that we do not use the term ‘British English’, it is just merely English.
One interesting thing I recently learned is that the mid-western accent, except for minor regional differences, is the U.S. equivalent of RP in England. (This really surprised me).
It is the accent (or lack thereof) that radio and TV news types in the U.S. strive to emulate.
Here is an interesting webpage about U.S. accents:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AmericanAccents
You”re forgetting “Bumbershoot” for umbrella and “Trainers” is also a term for sneakers.
Me again…sorry to keep popping up but, as an American, I feel duty bound to mention when something doesn’t ring true.
You included “soda” as the American term for “cold drink” and I thought I should add that many people in the midwest refer to “soda/cold drinks” as “pop”.
You mention that you have never seen anyone use the term “fridge” but I always refer to our refrigerator as a “fridge”, as do most people I know. Actually, most Americans use both terms interchangably with “fridge” being employed in more casual conversation.
One interesting inclusion I noticed was “bubbler” for drinking water fountain”…I have never heard the expression “bubbler” before, however, it might very well be a regional colloqualism I am unfamiliar with. We have always refered to “drinking water fountains” as simply “drinking fountains”.
Finally, I thought I should mention that both of the terms “pills” and “tablets” are correct in the US, though “tablets” is typically used to describe a specific sort of pill, which is usually round and uncoated such as an aspirin tablet.
Thanks for writing these interesting articles!
Hi.
I’m American and “bubbler” is used. But it is regional. It’s used in New England. My mom is from Massachusetts and she says “bubbler”. When I was little I lived in New Hampshire and we said it there too. So it’s used in New England. But I’ve lived in FL and MD and I’ve never heard it in either of those places nor in the surrounding states. Only in New England.
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
Aha, I thought that it might be a regional term. I will say that it’s a lot more evocative and a much more cute term than “drinking fountain” lol.
Thanks for the info!
Nicole, I am from Wisconsin and we use the term bubbler also. I thought it was just regional to our area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubbler
We say bubbler for drinking fountain in Massachusetts. I’ve visited the Arizona desert and when I asked where the bubbler is, they had no idea what I was talking about.
Yes, very regional, as well as, other words unrecognizable in AZ (as my personal example) always used in Massachusetts/New England where I live.
Another term you might hear used in Indiana by older people:
If you hear them talking about going to the grocery store to get some “mangos” this may not be the tropical fruit they are talking about.
It may be referring to a green pepper.
I did some research on this and it is definitely an archaic term and may have its origins in West Virginia.
Interesting…. “Mangos” means green pepper…I would be shocked to get green pepper, if I asked for mangos
Thanks for sharing !
I’m a little surprised that I haven’t seen the location where you park your automobiles discussed.
My spouse and I both had friends from England that referred to that location as the “car park” whereas in the U.S. we call it the parking lot.
Very nice and well explained article…:)
In many parts of the U.S., when you either don’t understand some one or didn’t hear them clearly you might say:
“I beg your pardon” or just “Pardon”
However, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the expression, might be “Please” which is probably a shortened version of “Please repeat what you just said”.
Another expression heard in the U.S. is “If you don’t mind” would you, could you do something?
However, in Tennessee, the expression is “If you don’t care” which is rather startling if you are used to the former , because the latter is kind of a double negative.
Here is another interesting expression:
In the eastern U.S. you “take a haircut”.
In the Midwest you “get a haircut”. Another rather archaic phrase is “getting your ears set out”.
Women more often than not will refer to it as “getting my hair cut”, probably because some women perceive the word ” a haircut” as a masculine phrase.
I’ve lived on the East coast my whole life. I’ve lived in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maryland, Florida and have been to every state here on the East Coast. I have never heard anybody say “take a haircut.” Here we say “get a haircut” and everybody – guys or girls – says “I’m getting my hair cut.” I’m not sure where you’ve heard “take a haircut”? Are you from the East Coast? Because I’ve never heard anybody say that and I’ve lived here all my life.
But that does remind me of how Americans say “take a shower” whereas Australians (and I think Brits too?) would say “have a shower.” Australians (and I’m assuming Brits too) also say “have a go” and “it’s your go” rather than “take a turn” or “it’s your turn” which is what Americans say. I mention Australians because I’ve been to Australia and have friends there. But Australia uses British English so it’s often the same. Though Australia has a lot more shortened/slang words…..brekkie (breakfast), prezzy (presant), tazzy (Tasmania), chokkie bikkie (chocolate buscuit/cookie), avo (afternoon), sus (suspicious; i.e. “that’s so sus”), sunnies (sunglasses), etc. I may have spelt some of the shorted words incorrectly.
I’m from England. We say both…. “Go and take a shower ” or “I’m going to have a shower”
And yes we do say “it’s your go” or “have a go at this” I work in early education and it’s really hard to change the way we say this. But thank goodness the children know what I’m saying. lol!
We also use most of the slang words that the Australians use too.
I will have to try and think of what else there is. Its funny hearing the thoughts of others.
I will be returning home in a few weeks and I’m sure aload of words will just coming flooding back.
Nicole:
Probably my sample size is too small on “take a haircut”, but I have heard it in the east.
Since I’m in my late ’60s that expression may have gone out of style, but I have heard it.
I’m from Texas and fridge is commonly used as is ice box, but ice box is usually by much older people.
Hi. Just happened to come across this site while surfing. A few more additions:
We do use “fridge” quite often in the US. Toilet paper is TP. Bathroom can be “Ladies Room” or “Powder Room” for women, “Gents” for the men. “Coke” is a universal reference to any soft drink. How about “chips” (potato chips) instead of “crisps”. We say “Thank you”, in England it’s “Tah”. “You’re Welcome” rather than “Cheers”. Oh, and here a “rubber” is a condom. I wonder how many more you’ll come up with!
Tah is really only used by little children. I don’t ever remember an adult saying that.
For “Thank You” we normally say “Cheers”.
When you say “your welcome” we say “no worries”
Yes a rubber here is a condom, but for us a rubber is an eraser
Actually, “Coke” is a universal term for any soft drink in – the South (at least in Tennessee). It is still “Pop” in Indiana and Michigan. In Illinois and Missouri it is “Soda”. In New Hampshire it may be called a”Tonic” – (I have a couple of friends from there). By the way, in some states Cream or Creme Soda is red. In some states it is pale yellow, while in Chicago, at least, it is clear like water.
In several of the Midwestern states the words car, fire, and tire/tyre rhyme with far. Iron is pronounce “Arn”. In several of the Southern states, one syllable words are pronounced as two syllable words, like my car (ca-ar) and my dog (daw-awg). This one is very subtle, but if you listen carefully, you can hear the two syllables. A real surprise is that in Chattanooga, TN and Houston, TX. Despite being located in the South, these two cities, with a few exceptions, do not really have an appreciable accent.
There are several terms in the U.S. for the container you use to carry your groceries.
It can be either a bag, a sack, or a poke (may be slightly archaic now) . The wheeled cart you accumulate your groceries in before paying for them at the check-out can be either a cart, a shopping cart, a basket, or a buggy (in the South).
Also, depending on the location, a large, many component sandwich on a long split roll can be a “Grinder”, a “Hero”, a “Hoagie”, a “Poor Boy”, a “Submarine”, or a “Torpedo”. I’m sure there are several other terms for other localities.
My grandmother owned an “Icebox” when I was in grade school. The ice man came in a horse drawn wagon and brought a large block of ice into the house with tongs and opened the door to a compartment in the top of the icebox and put the block in there. I believe he came about 3 times a week. This was in the “50s”.
Because of the type of work I used to do, I lived in several different states, before I retired.
John, really interesting words…It is amazing to know that you traveled so much and got used to different words. “Icebox” is my favorite
Thanks for sharing !
MY NAME IS SAYLOVE MBELE .I AM FROM DRC .THIS LIST HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL FOR US .THANKS
It is amazing difference for us..since we accustomed to using English..for instance, we say autumn in time of raining..where as using ‘Fall’ as a season of autumn in American English..Grocery store=AM..super market=EN..And so many examples..Within process of time we can get more..
I found out there is big different between AMERICAN and ENGLISH..ADDED to my memory
am loving this. Thankyou.
This is all very interesting to read. I am from the South of England and moved here 3 years ago. I on occasion I still use British words but now being around so many Americans I forget most English words. Although, looking through all of these written here, I have never heard of a dickey. We call the trunk of a car …. the boot.
One that no one has mentioned is a Fanny. Here this is considered as your behind, but in England it is something completely different. I’ll let you fill out the blank………….
Lets see how many people know this one.
Bunk/Bunked is when you take a day off from school or work without permission.
Women’s underwear is called knickers. Men’s underwear are called pants.
Ground meat is called Mince.
Pumps here are high heels. Pumps at home are more like trainers or shoes children wear for PE
These are all very random but are the first things that came into my head. lol!
Can’t wait to hear some more!
I am from the south of england too but not that far south. Ousts to live in Surrey.
Hi! Just wanted to let y0u know that Americans do sometimes use the word “fridge”. It’s actually used more commonly than “refrigerator”.
Oh, PS: In this region, we call Coke, Pepsi, etc., “pop”!
Hello! I love lists like this, but my experience with a few of the words is different. I’m from the Pacific Northwest in the US, and we definitely say “fridge” here. “Refrigerator” has too many syllables, so people don’t say it that often. We have both cilantro and coriander in stores, because they’re our names for two different things! Cilantro is the leaf of the plant that coriander seeds come from. We use the term “grocery store,” but usually shorten it to “the store.” “I’m going to the store–need anything?” We also say “drinking fountain” or “water fountain.” Although we do have Benson bubblers in Portland. http://www.gaiser.org/BensonBubbler.jpg They are a specific style of fountain, though, and we don’t use that name for anything else.
Laura, I love the Benson Bubbler. It is exactly like Benson burner, that we studied in chemistry….Short forms and less syllables are always good
I think that’s a Bunsen Burner not Bensen Burner
We also say “supermarket” in the USA too (along with [grocery] store, like you said).
In New England instead of “water fountain” they say “bubbler.” My mom is from Massachusetts and she says it. I went to preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade in New Hampshire and they said it there as well. Then I moved to Florida for my elementary school years and they didn’t say it there. (Also in New England they say “wicked” a lot instead of “very”. Like “that is wicked cool.”) Now I’m in Maryland and nobody says “bubbler.” So outside of New England the word “bubbler” is not used, as far as I know. I’ve never heard it elsewhere.
Also in New England, instead of “dresser” they say “bureau.” That’s what I learned to call it. Although dresser is used too. But most people outside of New England barely know what a bureau is. And in New England, instead of “basement” they usually say “cellar.”
Anyway those are just some differences between the US states. There are so many differences just within the USA, let alone between all the English speaking countries!! I’m just glad we all speak English, no matter what dialect or accent. It’s nice to be able to understand people from so many other countries.
I love this list, thank you! I’m from Dallas, Texas and chivalry is very important to that. That means men opening doors to women, people taking off hats in places of worship. We also tend to combine words like. In the North east people say “you guys”. In texas we say “ya’ll”.
yeah we do bubblers’ a weed pipe wit water
Fridge may come from the Frigidaire brand of refrigerator, one of which I have about 6 ft (2.36 meters/metres) away from me.
im english but live in the states now and i can say that i have never heard anyone say hotel and mean restraunt, they say restraunt in england. p.s. you should do one on different spellings like colour : color. haha also here’s one you can add tackle : steal i was playing football (soccer) and i yelled “tackle her” and everyone stopped in the middle of the pitch and stared at me. I was taken out of the game and given a speech on your not allowed to hurt people, it was really embarrising. All i meant was steal the ball from her, anyway lesson learned.
from the bottom of my heart, I used to confuse American English words vs British English words but this helps a lo.. Thanks
I am British- this seems to be intended for non-US folks visiting the US, but could be helpful in either direction. I, as a Brit, would say:
Grocery store: Supermarket. Alternatively, Greengrocer’s for a shop that just sells vegetables and fruit. May also be referred to by the name of the chain (E.g. ‘Tescos’ ‘Co-op’, ‘Asda’, ‘Morrisons’, ‘All-Nite’)
Restaurant: We say restaurant too, although it usually implies a place serving multi-course meals in the evening. Places serving light daytime food may be called a café instead, or, in touristy places, maybe a tea-shop. If somewhere does takeaway food, we might say takeaway instead. If the place serves the food of a specific country or region we might call it by that (E.g. ‘Indian’, ‘Chinese’). May also be referred to by the name of the chain (E.g. ‘Macdonalds’, ‘Pizza Hut’).
Traffic lights: We say traffic lights or just lights too. Using ‘traffic signal’ will likely produce a puzzled look, or imply a signpost of some kind.
Sidewalk: We’d generally use pavement if it’s alongside a road. Footpath often implies a path without vehicles alongside.
Soda: We’d usually use the brand name or equivalent- ‘Coke’ or ‘Tango’ or whatever. ‘Fizzy drink’ is a generic term but not so often used. ‘Coke’ is often used for any cola-flavoured drink, even if it is in fact a Pepsi. ‘Pop’ is very a old-fashioned word for the same thing. ‘Cold drink’ can mean any non-alcoholic drink served at room temperature or below. ‘Soft drink’ and ‘non-alcoholic beverage’ have similar meanings but are more likely seen on a menu than heard spoken.
Okra: Ladies’ Fingers. Okra is also used.
Eggplant: Aubergine
Peanuts: Peanuts. Using ‘ground nuts’ will probably get you funny looks, or possibly a direction towards ground almonds, or maybe gingernuts, which are ginger biscuits (ginger-flavoured cookies).
Battery: Battery
Mixer/Blender: Food processor or blender, or sometimes ‘Kenwood’ (A brand name sometimes applied as a general term).
Bell pepper: Bell pepper
Sneakers: Trainers. ‘Tennis shoes’ is a very old-fashioned term.
Also
Vacuum cleaner: Sometimes called a ‘hoover’
Adhesive tape: Stickytape or Sellotape
Kristin, Thanks for sharing…some interesting words ..I like Fizzy drink
Hoover is interesting ? all I can think of is the company ” Hoovers “, I would be lost… 
This is very useful for me. Thank you.
Kristin:
Interesting.
In the U.S. there may be something similar to Greengrocers over here but I am more familiar with “farmer’s markets”. These are either at a designated location in a town or city, or with the owner’s permission, may take place on a certain day of the week in the parking areas of our “big box” stores like Wal-Mart or K-Mart (Big K now). Farmers will come and sell produce out of the back of their vehicles or under canopies.
Instead of “take away” food we have “drive-thru” or “take out” (where you have to enter the restaurant or store).
The one that surprised me was Ladies Fingers as a name for okra. When I was growing up, I remember my mother making “Lady Fingers” as a light refreshment. This an elongated sugar cookie/biscuit. They might have icing. As for okra, I have only seen it served two ways – pickled and boiled. I really enjoy pickled okra. However, in spite of my Scottish background, boiled okra, which I have tried, has about as much appeal to me as the description of haggis
Finally, in the area I live in, athletic shoes are referred to just as “sneaks”, at least by my age group.
Oh another thing is that I use both “grocery store” and “super market” here in the USA.
Another one is basement and cellar. Both are used here. I’m not sure about in England. Cellar in the USA is generally used only in New England. My parents say cellar since they’re from Massachusetts. I, however, call it a basement since I’ve grown up mostly in Florida and other East coast states.
Autumn and fall are also both used in the USA, except fall is much more common (actually, did you know people in England first used the term “fall” but then switched to “autumn”!) But autumn is still used, and if you said it people would have no problem understanding what you mean. Some people also have the name Autumn.
Floor levels is another thing. I think in England the very first floor is called the “ground floor” and then the second level is called the “first floor”, etc. But in the USA the “ground floor” is the same thing as the “first floor”. Then the second level is the “second floor”, etc.
Another one is in the USA it’s called a band-aid, whereas in England it’s a plaster.
In the USA it’s called a diaper, in England it’s a nappy.
Oh and as for the spelling of the word theater/theatre. In the USA you can spell it either way. I like to spell it theatre only because to me that seems cooler.
But either way is acceptable. They are interchangeable here and both are used despite the fact that we use the -er instead of the -re. (except in the word “acre”, where it’s -re).
The letter “z” here is pronounced like “zee”, not “zed.”
Sorry if you already mentioned any of these! I read this wonderful article last year, over 7 months ago.
Anyways, again – nice article.
I hope you’re liking your life in the USA!
Nicole, Thanks for sharing great info… I have not mentioned anything that you wrote in my previous articles…
I did come across all of them in US, but could not recollect, when I wrote the article …I am glad you wrote them 
You should read this Vegetables, Snacks, Food American vs. British and add anything that I missed, will help blog readers. Yes, I am really enjoying my stay in US 
Some of the words used here in the US carry certain connotations.
For instance “cellar” denotes an area that may be inadequately lighted and dank.
“Basement” implies an area that is much better lighted and dry.
“Fall” is more of a Midwestern term while the east coast uses “Autumn”. I’m unsure what the west coast uses. While theater/theatre are both used, theatre implies a more upscale location. You often see it written in Olde English on programs/playbills, and yes, playbill is the upscale term.
Use the word, trunk instead of dickey. i asked one of my friend to open car dickey and he laughed at me, instead he suggested me to use open car trunk..
Nice article, i came to know many words. I appreciate your good work.
Good going..
Welcome Lokesh ! Glad it helped.
One of my friend who couldn’t find curd at the grocery shop approached for help and asked them where is curd? They couldn’t understand as yogurt is the word used in US. He tried his best by saying plain curd, and they showed him playing card.
Very true…It is funny they showed playing card
He might want to try “cottage cheese”, which is what “curd” is called where I’m from.
Hey.
Depending on where in the country you are soda = pop. Its a great debate, but Soda is more of a midwest thing.
Also, Bubbler is known as a fountain or drinking fountain in most states…
Yeah, never heard ‘bubbler’ before in the Northeast. It’s just called water fountain, drinking fountain or fountain here.
Something more interesting for you, in Wisconsin and upper peninsula, people call ATMs as Tyme machines (pronounced as time machine). TYME means Take Your Money Everywhere.
That’s funny! Learn something new every day
I live on the East Coast – Soda is an east coast thing, Pop is in the midwest
Cool website, it was really interesting to browse around!
Thanks Steph !
Actually come to think of it a lot of your English translations are wrong.
I don’t mean to sound like a d*ck. Just trying to help.
Rudd, I grew up in India and the meanings I have written based on my experience and not straight out of dictionary. Some of these meanings are very informal, which in fact might be different in UK. I am writing this from an International student perspective
Feel free to add your comments or any corrections, it is always good to know the right thing!
I’ve lived my whole life on the east coast, and I actually found this website quite accurate – only mistakes are that we definitely say Fridge (at least in Pennsylvania!) and I think bubbler is a British thing, we say water fountain. In the midwest they say pop instead of soda. Nail cutter will work just fine, and you’re right, rubber means something very different than a pencil eraser – it means a condom! So be careful there haha.
There are so many regional differences in dialects, I can’t even imagine trying to get them all down perfectly – I’ve lived in the US all my life and I definitely don’t know them all for every region of the US! Big place haha. Cool site, must be so helpful to people getting comfortable in America.
Yes Steph, its amazing to see many regional differences and usage of words…
A hotel in English English is a place where you stay the night.
A lot of English hotels have restaurants attatched
Very nice article.
By the way, I’m American and I use “fridge” all the time. So do a lot of people I know. We either say “refridgerator, fridge, or frigerator”. Freezer only have one name and is part of the fridge but is where extra cold things go like ice cream, ice cube try (if you have one), frozen food items, etc. I’m sure you know this but I’m just making sure.
Anyway, thanks for this article, it was very interesting. I plan on going to England in the next couple years or so! thank you!
PS- to what part of the USA did you move?
Wlecome Nicole ! I agree with you….at least in my experience interacting with people, I have noticed often people use refrigerator… anyways, I lived in Southern states and currently live in Midwest !
thanks for this page… i got the answer in my assignment…;)
Really ? That’s cool. I am glad it helped !