If you are wondering whether to write neice or niece, you are not alone. In fact, lots of words in the English language are tricky to spell, including this one. So, which spelling are you supposed to use?
Neice or Niece Spelling – Which is Correct?
According to English grammar and spelling, the correct spelling is niece, with the I before the E. “Neice” is incorrect. And, it is not a word in English.
Apparently, lots of people accidentally write niece as neice, nece or neece. These are misspellings that make your writing harder to understand. Once again, the only correct way to spell niece is with the I before the E. It is just like “piece.”
What Does Niece Mean?
The word “niece” describes the female of a person’s sister or brother. Based on the research, around the 14th century, English language speakers began to use it. Also, modern French speakers use the word “niece” that has the same meaning.
Before the adoption of “niece” in England, the old English speakers used “nift,” “nefene,” and “broðordohter.” These words refer to a person’s granddaughter or distant female relative. As with lots of English words, you are able to trace the word’s roots to Latin, “neptia.” Yeah, the Latin term for the word “niece” is “neptia” that directly translates to “niece” or female “neptis” or nephew.
English speakers use the word “grandniece” to portray the daughter of a person’s niece in the same way they utilize “grand” to portray the parents of a person’s parents. Also, the adjective “grand” comes from France.
In Old English, people used the word “great-niece.” You might also hear or see either word with modern English, particularly in the United States, where “grandniece” finally grew in popularity.
Writing in English may end up confusing for you. You need to learn how to spell the words correctly, whether you are writing a letter to a relative or an essay. Sometimes, the simplest words used in your everyday conversations can end up the hardest to spell.
How Is Niece Misspelled?
Most of the time, the writers misspell niece as “neice.” It can be because of confusion between which goes first, the “e” or the “i.” Unlike other spelling disputes, the misspelling is not accepted or considered in American and British English. In the English Dictionary, the only variation you can see is niece, which is used in British English. Other than that, there are no more.
Commonly, spelling errors occur because people expect to spell “niece” the same way it sounds. But French language speakers often utilized “ie” to make the long “e” sound instead of using a single “e” or double “ee.” Also, you are able to find “niece” spelled as “nes” that causes more confusion in a pronunciation guide.
How To Use Niece in A Sentence?
Although knowing the meaning of niece will be able to assist you understand its origin and spelling, you also need to review the proper use in sentences before you add it to your conversations and writings so that you do not misuse it.
Here are some example sentences using niece:
- Anna spent nearly a half hour in the store’s bag looking for the perfect birthday prize for her favorite niece.
- Juliet loves her two-year-old grandniece so much that she bought her a dozen engineering kits to nurture her niece’s love for building stuff.
- At the barbecue, Anna told her friend that the two women standing next to the tree, her niece and great-niece, lived two states over. They traveled long distances to spend time with their beloved family.
- Mike never knew his family. After he purchased their old home, he found that someone had painted a family tree diagram with the branches and the roots on the wall. He knew that he had some nieces and nephews.
- At the start of summer, Rose invited her great-niece, the daughter of her nephew, to stay with her for a few months.
Examples of Niece Used in Famous English books
Here are some examples of niece/nieces being used in famous English books.
- “In the society of his nephew and niece, and their children, the old Gentleman’s days were comfortably spent. His attachment to them all increased.”—Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility
- “Nobody noticed as the little girl stepped over the shadowed threshold; not even Aunt Ada, who some might’ve expected to be shepherding her orphaned niece towards her uncertain future.”—Kate Morton, The Secret Keeper
- “What did people do with enormous families? All those cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews. How did they keep them straight? How did they breathe at any sort of family function?”—J.D. Robb, Salvation in Death
- “To lose a brother is to lose someone with whom you can share the experience of growing old, who is supposed to bring you a sister-in-law and nieces and nephews, creatures to people the tree of your life and give it new branches.”—Yann Martel, Life of Pi
- “We wrap our arms around each other and we cry. We cry mother to daughter. We cry aunt to niece. We cry victim to victim. We cry survivor to survivor.”—Colleen Hoover, Hopeless
- “He had in his house a housekeeper past forty, a niece under twenty, and a lad for the field and market-place, who used to saddle the hack as well as handle the bill-hook.”—Miguel De Cervantes, Don Quixote
Tips for Spelling Niece, Not Neice
One grammar rule taught in the schools is “I before E, except after C.” This grammar rule works with the word niece, as well as many other words, such as relief and piece. But this rule is not always reliable, because the words like beige and seize are common exceptions. A more specific mnemonic that you are able to use is the sentence, “Her niece is nice.” Both niece and nice start with ni, so the correct spelling is niece, not neice. Please remember these rules, and you will be able to keep your writing errors.
