Confused between Principal and Principle? Here is an easy trick

While learning English, many words sound exactly alike but differ completely in meaning and use. Principal and Principle are two such words. Many people mistakenly write Principle when writing about a school principal, and write Principal when they mean a rule or a concept. If you keep making this mistake, here is a simple way to clear the confusion for good.

First, consider Principal. This word is used for a person, a position, or the most important thing. Its most common example is the principal of a school or college. Principal can also mean main, chief or most important.

For instance, "Our school principal addressed the students" means the head of the school spoke to the students. Similarly, "Health is my principal concern" means health is my biggest, or main, worry.

An easy trick to remember this is that Principal ends in "pal", and pal means friend. So just remember that a school's Principal can be your Pal.

Now consider Principle. This word means a doctrine, rule, element or a core idea, that is, rules or values that we consider right and follow in our lives.

For example, "Honesty is an important principle" and "She always follows her principles."

The trick to remember Principle is just as easy. It ends in "ple", just as Rule ends in "ule". So whenever the discussion is about a rule or a doctrine, use the "ple" version, Principle.

Since Principal and Principle sound the same, they are called homophones in English. But their meanings are completely different. If these small tricks are kept in mind, there will never be confusion again over the spelling and use of these two words.