Commonly confused words! You will maybe mix up words. These words are very
close in meaning, but they're actually different. My name's Ronnie. I'm
going to help you figure out some... six words that are confusing in English,
and you think maybe they're even the same word. They are not the same
word. They are different. They have different meanings. Don't ever get
Okay, so: commonly confused words. The first one is "fun", and you confuse
this with "funny". I say, what's the difference between "fun" and "funny"?
And you say, "Oh, I know... 'fun' is an adjective." It's the police again.
They've come to get me. We're having too much fun.
And I say, "Well, if 'fun' is an adjective what kind of word is 'funny' then, hmm?"
And you go, "Oh, it's an adjective, too." So what's the difference? The
difference is "fun" means you are -- woohoo -- having a great, great time doing
something. You are having fun. It's great.
Maybe you are drinking. Maybe you are watching English videos. Maybe you
are studying. I really wouldn't think that studying would be fun, but
learning on the internet is fun. Then we have "funny."
"Funny" means it makes you laugh. If something is funny, you will laugh. A
lot of people say "I went to Disneyland and it was funny."
Why, what happened? "We went on a roller coaster." Uhhh, okay, but a roller coaster's not
"funny". If I went to an amusement park, I wouldn't look at a roller
coaster and go... "Hahaha... look at it, it's a roller coaster. It's funny." No, you
would go on the roller coaster and go "Woo hoo!" -- it is fun.
So: difference, "fun" means, basically, a good time -- "I'm having a good
time." -- versus "funny" -- it makes you laugh. This word looks like "la ha uhghhjg"
but the pronunciation is actually "laugh". "Fun" means it's a good time,
like at a party. "Funny" means it makes you laugh. You can have both
together. You can go to a party. The party can be super-fun, and someone at
the party could be funny, maybe there's a clown, clowns can be funny.
The next one is "surprise" versus "shock." I hear a lot of people say, for
example, "I went home last night, and I saw my mom and my dad naked. I was
surprised." Were you having a party? Are you getting out a camera? "Hi
Mom, hi Dad, what's up?" No, no, no, no, you were not "surprised". You
were scarred for life. You were in "shock" or, in the past tense, you were
"shocked".
You weren't happy about something. You were "shocked". So, "surprise" we
always use for a positive event. For example, if you bought a lottery
ticket and you won, "Surprise! You have a million dollars!" Cool! Compared
Let's say that you just got a phone call that your friend is in the
hospital, because they got hit by a donkey. "Surprise! Your friend got hit
by a donkey". No... "I'm shocked! My friend got hit by a donkey."
"Surprise" is always positive.
"Shocked" is always a bad thing, or a negative situation. On to the last
one. "Famous" versus "popular". These are very similar in meaning, but
again, different. "Famous" means many people know you or know someone. So
if you look at an example, you can take any president of the United States
I would wager a bet, any president, or prime minister in the world most
people would know their name. So if I took the President of Canada... we
don't have a President of Canada. If I took the Prime Minister of Canada...
Nah, I don't want to take him.
If we took the President of America, if we took George W. Bush, the past
president of America, most people have heard of the word "bush" before, mmm-hmm...
George W. Bush. But, many people know this name; many people know the name
"Bush". Popular: do you like George Bush, George W. Bush? I'm sorry.
George W. Bush was very, very famous, but he was not popular. "Popular"
means many people actually like someone.
So people who are popular... they don't have to have a lot of people that
know who they are, but they have to have a couple people who actually like
them. Another example of someone who is "famous", but not "popular" -- again,
it's all about the government isn't it -- would be the famous, but much
hated, Hitler. Everyone knows who Hitler is. I hope people don't like
Hitler. Come on, really? This guy's terrible! So Hitler is famous but not popular.
Maybe when you were in high school, there was the "popular" boy... who talked
like this, and was so popular, okay? Or there was the "popular" girl. People
liked the popular boy or the popular girl.
But if you went to a different school and you said, "Hey, do you know Benny,
the guy that talks like this?" They'd go, "No, I don't know Benny." Benny
is well-liked or popular at your school, but many people don't know who he is.
Famous -- popular. Surprise -- shock. Fun -- funny.