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Is It Learnt or Learned? | Spelling, Difference & Examples

Is It Learnt or Learned? | Spelling, Difference & Examples

UK vs US updated on November 21, 2023 3 min read

Learnt and learned are two ways of spelling the past tense of the verb “learn,” which means “to gain skill or knowledge.”

In British English, “learnt” is standard.
In American English, “learned” is standard.

It’s important to choose one spelling and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.

Examples: Learnt or learned in a sentence

Lorenzo learnt/learned to cook delicious Italian dishes by following his grandfather’s recipes.

The students learnt/learned about the history of the USA in their classes.
Mason learnt/learned to speak three languages during high school.

Try QuillBot's Grammar Checker for free!

Learned as an adjective

The first meaning of the adjective learned is “acquired by learning.” In this case, you can spell it both ways, and it’s pronounced like the verb learned or learnt, with one syllable.

Examples: Learned as an adjective
Children don’t just misbehave. That’s learned behavior!

Learned helplessness occurs after someone has repeatedly experienced a stressful situation.

However, learned can also carry the meaning “scholarly” or “knowledgeable.” In this case, it’s pronounced [lur-nid] with emphasis placed on the first of two syllables.

In this context, you always spell it learned, even in British English.

Examples: Learned as an adjective
Aimee is a learned academic who specializes in research bias.
If you want to become learned, you have to go to school!

Learn as a regular or irregular verb

Learn can be considered either an irregular verb or a regular verb, depending on the chosen spelling of the past tense verb.

Verbs that form their past tense by adding “-ed” are regular verbs.
Verbs that form their past tense by adding a different suffix are irregular verbs.

Irregular forms of verbs that can be both regular and irregular are more common in British English. Other examples of verbs that are both irregular and regular are smelled or smelt, spelt or spelled, dreamed or dreamt, burnt or burned, and kneeled or knelt.

Main differences between American and British English

American and British English are very similar, but there are a few main differences in spelling. Five important differences are:

Difference	Rule	Examples
-or vs -our	In American English, many Latin-derived words end in -or. In British English, these same words end in -our.	Behavior or behaviour Labor or labour Favor or favour Favorite or favourite Color or colour Honor or honour
-er vs -re	In American English, some French, Latin, or Greek words end in -er. In British English, these same words end in -re.	Theater or theatre Center or centre Meter or metre Liter or litre Saber or sabre Fiber or fibre
-ize vs -ise	In American English, many Greek-derived words end in -yze or -ize. In British English, these words end in -yse or -ise.	Realize or realise Recognize or recognise Analyze or analyse Organize or organise Minimize or minimise Finalize or finalise
-ed vs -t	In American English, most verbs are regular and form their past tense with the suffix -ed. In British English, some of these verbs are irregular and form their past tense with the suffix -t.	Learned or learnt Burned or burnt Kneeled or knelt Dreamed or dreamt Smelled or smelt Spelled or spelt
Single vs double consonant	In American English, many words are spelled with a single consonant. In British English, these same words are spelled with a double consonant.	Modeling or modelling Traveling or travelling Canceled or cancelled Labeled or labelled Buses or busses Focused or focussed

Common mistakes	Commonly confused words	Rhetoric
Whoa or woah	Advisor vs adviser	Metonymy
Theirs or their's	Accept vs except	Synecdoche
Ours or our's	Affect vs effect	Verbal irony
Forty or fourty	Among vs between	Irony
Sence or sense	Anymore vs any more	Grawlix

Frequently asked questions about learnt or learned

Is it I have learned or learnt?

Learnt and learned are two spellings of the same verb. They’re both common, but “learnt” is standard in British English and “learned” in American English.

I have learned is more common in American English.
I have learnt is more common in British English.

Other examples of verbs that are both irregular and regular are smelled or smelt, spelt or spelled, dreamed or dreamt, burnt or burned, and kneeled or knelt.

It´s important to choose one and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.

Is it lesson learnt or learned?

Learnt and learned are two spellings of the same verb. They’re both common but learnt is standard in British English and learned in American English.

Lesson learned is more common in American English.
Lesson learnt is more common in British English.

Other examples of verbs that are both irregular and regular are smelled or smelt, spelt or spelled, dreamed or dreamt, burnt or burned, and kneeled or knelt.

It´s important to choose one and use it consistently. The QuillBot Grammar Checker can help you with this.

Julia Merkus

Julia has master's degrees in Linguistics and Language and speech pathology. Her expertise lies in grammar, language and speech disorders, foreign language learning, and child language acquisition.

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