Spelling

Use prefixes without hyphens except as follows:

Except for cooperate and coordinate, use hyphens if the prefix ends in a vowel and the word that follows begins with the same vowel, e.g. re-establish.
Use a hyphen if the word that follows a prefix is capped, e.g. trans-Atlantic, anti-Semitic

Note the following: mujahedin (Muslim resistance fighters), Taliban (not "Taleban"), Hamas (not "Hammas") for the Palestinian extremist organization (see also Arab Institutions), CTK (not "Ceteka") for the Czech news agency, Renamo (not "ReNaMo") for the Mozambican party, Scud (not "SCUD") for the R-17 missile. Afghan (national) but afghani (currency). Capitalize the initial letter of a name or product that a manufacturer writes completely in capitals for effect: Intel's Celeron processor, not "Intel's CELERON processor."

In copy, this news agency is to be referred to as Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, (i.e. all initials capped except for dpa, with a hyphen between Presse and Agentur, Presse not "Press", no comma before the dpa). See the Leads page for an example of this.

Use the vernacular names for places in Poland: e.g., Torun (not "Thorn"), Gdansk (not "Danzig"), Poznan (not "Posen"), Wroclaw (not "Breslau"), Bydgoszcz (not "Bromberg"). See the full list of English forms of Eastern European Place Names, guidance on river names and some links to online databases of place names.

Names for Korea, Vietnam and Singapore are spelled without hyphens ... President Kim Dae Jung, Ho Chi Minh, Lee Kuan Yew. Some Indonesians have only one name: former president Suharto. See also the List of Asian Name Forms.

For other names, consult The Europa World Year Book or The Times Atlas of the World.

Spellings of "z" or "-ize" are preferable to "s" or "-ise" in words such as organization, capitalize or realization, etc. The Concise Oxford Dictionary prefers the "z" spelling.

Remember, though, that some words must end in "-ise", whichever spelling convention is being followed. These include:

Note that words with the ending "-lyse", such as analyse and paralyse, should not be spelt "-lyze" in dpa style, even though they are commonly spelt thus in American English.

Foreign letters (with accents and other diacritical marks), including Turkish and Scandinavian ones, convert to a single standard English letter. Only the three German umlaut letters and es-zett convert to two: ae, oe, ue and ss. See the expanded note with examples in Typography. Two notable exceptions are Zurich (not "Zuerich") and Dusseldorf (not "Duesseldorf"). When rendering Russian names into English from German sources, use the scheme set on the Style Guide's Transcription page or the examples collected on the Russian names page.

accommodate etc. two c's, two m's

acquaint note the c

ageing with an e

aggressive etc. two g's, two s's

annexe (noun), annex (verb)

appal two p's, one l

appalling two p's, two l's

artefact with e not i

attach not -atch

aural (ears and hearing), oral (mouth and speech)

besiege i before e biased only one s

breach (break), breech (part of a gun)

canvas (material), canvass (solicit votes)

commemorate two m's followed by one m

committee two m's, two t's, two e's

complement (to add to something), compliment (to praise)

consensus not -census

council (body), counsel (person or verb)

definitely not -ate-

dependant (noun) dependent (adjective)

desert (place and verb), dessert (sweet course)

desperate not -par-

detach not -atch

disappear one s, two p's

disappoint one s, two p's

discreet (circumspect), discrete (distinct)

draft (preliminary sketch or document), draught (air current or liquid measure)

ecstasy ends in -asy

eighth two h's

embarrass etc. two r's, two s's

ensure (make sure), insure (take out insurance on)

enthral one l

envelope (noun), envelop (verb)

faint (hard to see or hear), feint (pretended blow, paper with faint lines)

flair (natural ability), flare (flame burst)

forbear (verb = desist from), forebear (noun = ancestor)

forego (go before), forgo (go without)

forever (continually), for ever (eternally)

fulfil one final l

gauge -au- not -ua-

grisly (causing revulsion), grizzly (bear)

guarantee -ua- not -au-

guard, guardian etc. -ua- not -au-

harass etc. one r, two s's

hoard (store of valuables), horde (large group of people)

hygienic i before e

independent ends in -ent

install two l's instalment one l

itinerary ends in -ary its

(possessive), it's (it is or it has)

judgement middle e preferred

licence (noun), license (verb)

loath (reluctant or unwilling), loathe (verb)

manoeuvre -oeu-, -re not -er

medieval not -aev-

Mediterranean one t, two r's

memento not mom-

millennium, two l's two n's

millionaire two l's one n

miniature note -ia-

minuscule not -iscule

mischievous not -ious

misspell two s's

naught (come to naught, set at naught), nought (0)

naval (relating to the navy), navel (umbillicus)

necessary one c, two s's

niece i before e

occurrence, two c's two r's

ordinance (an authoritative order), ordnance (military stores, mounted guns)

palate (roof of the mouth), palette (paint mixing board)

parliament, note -ia-

practice (noun), practise (verb)

principal (first or main, chief person), principle (basis of belief)

privilege ends -ege

questionnaire two n's

receive e before i

recommend one c, two m's

rhythm begins rh-

seize e before i

separate -par- not -per-

shear (cut), sheer (swerve, utter or complete)

siege i before e

sieve i before e

skilful single l's

stationary (not moving), stationery (writing materials)

storey (part of a building), story (account)

straight (without bend), strait (narrow passage of water)

supersede not -cede

suppress not sur-, two p's

surprise begins sur-

thief (noun), thieve (verb)

threshold one h

unwieldy not -ly

weird e before i

who's (who is), whose (possessive)

wilful single l's

withhold two h's

wreath (noun), wreathe (verb)