About British English Spell Checker
This spell checker does not have a British English dictionary. It checks against an American English dictionary, so British spellings such as "colour", "favourite" and "centre" are likely to be flagged as possible misspellings even when they are correct for you. It is free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser, so nothing you enter is uploaded.
You can still use it to catch typos in British text. Choose Ignore on a flagged British spelling to skip it for this session, or choose Add to dictionary to have it accepted every time in this browser. After you have added the words you use most, such as "colour" and "organise", the list of flags shrinks to the real mistakes.
Each word is a separate choice, because there is no setting to switch dialect. If most of your text is British, the first run will show a long list of "-our" and "-re" words, and a few minutes of adding them gives you a personal word list that stays in your browser.
Like the rest of this tool, it checks spelling only and not grammar, and it only checks English. Your text is checked in your browser and never uploaded.
How to use British English Spell Checker
- Type or paste your English text into the box. Wait a moment on your first visit while the dictionary loads.
- Press Check spelling. The possible misspellings appear below the box, in the order they first appear in your text.
- Click a suggested word to replace every copy of the misspelling in your text, or choose Ignore to leave the word as it is for now.
- Choose Add to dictionary for a name, brand or technical term you use often. It is remembered in this browser.
- Press Check spelling again to confirm that nothing is left, then copy your corrected text.
Features
- Checks English spelling against an American English Hunspell dictionary.
- Lists each misspelled word once, with how many times it occurs.
- Up to five suggestions per word, and one click replaces every copy of the word.
- Ignore skips a word for this session.
- Add to dictionary saves a word in this browser so it is accepted next time.
- Works with apostrophes, so "don't" and "it’s" are checked as one word.
- Shows a word count while you work.
- Your text is saved in this browser only.
Worked examples
My favourite colour is grey. gives Flags: favourite, colour, grey
All three are correct in British English. The American dictionary spells the last one "gray". Ignore them, or add them to your dictionary.
Privacy: how it works
- Your text is checked in your browser tab and is never sent to Ulkaa or to anyone else.
- The page downloads its dictionary files from this same site the first time you use it. That is a download to your device. Your text is not part of it.
- The text box and your personal word list are saved in your browser local storage. They stay on your device. Press Clear, or clear site data, to remove the text.
Tips
- Read your text once more after you click suggestions. A suggestion can be a real word that is the wrong one for your sentence.
- Add the names of people, places and products you write often to your dictionary, so the list stays short.
- Check one section at a time for a very long document, so you can read each list of flagged words carefully.
- Use Ignore for a word you want to leave alone in this document, and Add to dictionary for one you want accepted everywhere.
Frequently asked questions
Is it really free?
Yes. There is no price, no trial and no credit card. Ulkaa Tool does the work with your own device, so there is no server bill to pass on to you.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up and no login. Open the page and use it. An Ulkaa account is not needed for anything on this tool.
Does it run in my browser?
Yes. Your text are processed by code running in your browser tab, on your own device.
Is my data uploaded?
No. Your text are never sent to Ulkaa or to anyone else. You can check this yourself by watching the Network tab in your browser developer tools while you use the tool.
Is there a British English dictionary?
No. The checker uses an American English dictionary only, and you cannot switch it. British spellings may be flagged, and Ignore and Add to dictionary are how you deal with them.
Why is "colour" marked as a misspelling?
The dictionary spells it "color". The British spelling is correct in British English, so choose Ignore to skip it, or Add to dictionary to have it accepted from now on.
Does Add to dictionary stay saved?
Yes, in your browser on this device. If you clear your browser site data it is lost, and it does not sync to other devices.