Right vs. Write: What’s the difference?

Right and write are homophones, which are words that share the same pronunciation. 

Homophones can cause confusion when the writer mistakenly uses the wrong spelling and therefore uses a word with the wrong meaning in their sentence. 

To avoid any confusion in your writing, read this quick guide to using right vs. write. Then, review your writing with the Originality.ai Grammar Checker for proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Right: Meanings and Examples

Right has several definitions, it can also be a noun, adjective, verb, and adverb. 

Right: the adjective

Right as an adjective can mean correct or true. Think about it in the context of a test, if the answer was “right” it means it was correct.

Then, it can also be used to refer to the direction or side opposite of the left. Think about providing directions to someone, you might say “Make a right turn at the 1st street.”

Examples:

• I prefer to drive in the right lane so I am ready to take my exit.
• Some of the test questions have more than one right answer.

Right: the noun

Then, there is “right” the noun. In this scenario, it refers to a situation where a person has a justifiable claim to something. Think of intellectual property “rights.”

Examples:

• They always exercise their right to vote.
• A big publishing firm just purchased the rights to her new novel!

Right: the adverb

Right as an adverb refers to an exact or precise location or position. Think of an example where you’re describing the location of something, such as “The book was right there.”

Examples:

• I arrived at work right on time.
• Your phone is right where you left it.

Right: the verb

Finally, right as a verb can mean to correct a mistake or position something correctly again. 

Examples:

• They intended to make things right.
• I righted the glass before mopping up the spilled water.

Write: Meanings and Examples

Write is a verb. It refers to an action where a person is creating letters, characters, or numbers to form words and sentences on either a piece of paper or by typing.

It can also be used to refer to the more general act of writing, such as writing a novel, an essay, an email, or a text message to convey meaning through a textual method. 

Examples:

• I write to my grandmother every week.
• She forgot to write out the agenda prior to the meeting.
• Please write your phone number and email on the form.

When to Use Right vs. Write

Although these two words may sound the same, there are significant differences in their meaning. To differentiate, try to remember the meaning of each word. 

When in doubt, remember that “write” with a “w” means to put words on paper (digital or physical). You can also use a digital grammar tool such as Originality.ai Grammar Checker to review your writing.

Examples:

• You may use the scrap paper to do your calculations, but remember to write the right answer on your test paper.
• I have to write an essay about rights and responsibilities. 
• Can you write your name? I want to make sure I get the spelling right. 
• Did you know you can write your email and schedule it to send at the right time?

Right vs. Write: Final Thoughts

Homophones can be tricky to master when writing. But with practice, you will be able to differentiate between written homophones just as you can understand homophones in conversation based on the context. 

Keep practicing and use resources such as grammar blogs, dictionaries, and the Originality.ai Grammar Checker to keep your grammar top-notch!

Read more about grammar, spelling, and punctuation in our top guides:

• What Are Antonyms? A Complete Guide
• There vs. Their vs. They’re
• Your vs You’re: How to Use Them Properly
• Accept vs. Except — What’s the Difference?
• It’s vs. Its — How to Use Them Properly + Examples

FAQs

Why are “right” and “write” so commonly confused?

Because “right” and “write” are pronounced the same way in English, it can be easy to mistake one spelling for the other.

How can you quickly check whether to use “right” or “write”?

The first way to check which spelling to use is to remember the definitions of each. If you cannot remember the definition, use a dictionary to help you. Then, use an online grammar tool such as the Originality.ai Grammar Checker to review your writing.