Why these two words, you might ask yourselves?

There’s no obvious connection – they mean different things, they are spelt differently, they are pronounced differently.

And yet, if you have a few years’ teaching experience, you probably know that students get confused about these two words very often – and it’s not just the case with beginner learners. students in general are not sure which is which, and it takes a while to figure out which one to use in a particular context.

If you also sometimes find yourself in this dilemma, the pictures might help you remember the difference!

different /ˈdɪf(ə)r(ə)nt/ – not the same