# Why do so many people spell alcohol as "Alchohol"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 28, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065 "2007-02-28T19:43:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mbossa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@Mbossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mbossa)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/21 "2007-03-01T02:52:39Z")
(sorry, stray post, nothing to see here folks) ---
**Author:** ![elelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f0a364/32.png) [@elelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elelle)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/22 "2007-03-01T03:45:55Z")
Alchohol, Cholesterol, what’s a lively (struggling) liver to do with them tahhhhmaters thrown… _Chough, chough…_ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/23 "2007-03-01T03:51:09Z")
Alcohol just seems too easy. Some of us psych ourselves out and end up misspelling it alchohol or some other way. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/24 "2007-03-01T04:12:53Z")
Oh yay, I’m two of those permanently remembered 474 posts. Lets make it 3. alchohol! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/25 "2007-03-01T05:26:21Z")
It comes from the Arabic word كحل _kuhl_, which is the origin of ‘kohl’. You know, [eyeliner](http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/images/muslimwomaneyes.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Eleusis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Eleusis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleusis)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/26 "2007-03-01T06:34:09Z")
Some people actually pronounce it that way: “Alc-ho-hol”. Not that it could possibly account for those Google numbers… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/27 "2007-03-01T12:07:30Z")
They’re related to the people who spelled “skokie” as Schuylkill and “kalis” as chalice and who insist in pronouncing the ch in my lastname as a k even after I’ve told them one thousand and one times it’s “Che like CHOcolate”? A spelled “ch” seems to be a phonetic k as often if not more than it’s a phonetic ch, in English. Add “knowing there’s an h somewhere” and that a phonetic k could be written as c, k or ch (and probably as other things I’m forgetting) and well, yeah, it’s confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/28 "2007-03-01T17:24:17Z")
Yep, it’s chonfusing all right. Here’s the weird thing. We’ve got these stray letters that serve absolutely no purpose. So let’s bring back “x” to mean “ch”. And “c” to mean “sh”, any kases where you would use a hard “c”, just use a “k”, and any kases you use a soft “c” use an “s” and any cases you use a “ch” you use an “x”. We wouldn’t have to add any extra letters to they keyboards or anyþing. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/29 "2007-03-01T19:36:29Z")
**Qadgop** is just feeling cranky because he has to do all those prostrate exams. Speaking of spelling disasters involving the letters “ch”, how are we coming along on that Re-edukation Camp for all the parents who have named or are planning to name their little girls “Chasity”? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/30 "2007-03-01T19:40:32Z")
[QUOTE=Jackmannii] **Qadgop** is just feeling cranky because he has to do all those prostrate exams. [/QUOTE] I find supine exams easier. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065/31 "2007-03-01T20:13:18Z")
Not quite as bad as lupine exams though! [QUOTE=Johanna] It comes from the Arabic word كحل _kuhl_, which is the origin of ‘kohl’. You know, [eyeliner](http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/images/muslimwomaneyes.jpg). [/QUOTE] So…beer goggles are to be blamed on the Middle East? OOOH! I guess [they are](http://www.eat-online.net/italian/habits/beer_in_ancient_times.htm#EGYPTIANS)! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-people-spell-alcohol-as-alchohol/394065.md?page=1)