spelling 1 min read

how do you spell studies

Compact form card with the exact spelling, IPA, the y-to-i relationship, natural examples, and one phonetic boundary note.

A closer look

Studies /ˈstʌdiz/. From study + -es: the y changes to i before the ending, so the spelling becomes studies.

She studies every evening.

Where you'll see it

  • My studies take most of my time this term. Here studies is a plural noun meaning the work you do at a college or university.

  • Her studies include history and French. Here studies is also a plural noun for the work you do at a college or university.

One sound to watch

The stress sits on the first syllable only: /ˈstʌdiz/. Say STUD-eez. The -ies spelling is not pronounced as two syllables; it sounds as one, /iz/, with the vowel /ɪ/. Trust the /ˈstʌ/ beat and the rest follows naturally.

Watch the spelling trap around that /iz/ ending. Because the sound is /z/ not /s/, the common slips go in two directions: some learners leave the y alone and write studys, while others double a letter and write studdies. Neither doubled letters nor dropped letters are needed. Study swaps y for i and adds es, in that exact order, giving studies. That spelling is the only accepted one in both British and American usage.

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