Word.ws English Dictionary

i before e, except after c

i before e, except after c is the alternative letter-case form of I before E.

Proverb capitalized: I before E, except after C

I before E, except after C

  1. (mnemonic) In English words that contain the letters I and E together, the I tends to come before the E (ie), except in cases when the two are preceded by the letter C, in which case the E comes before the I (cei).

Forms of i before e, except after c

alternative formi before e, except after c

Origin of i before e, except after c

Formed because of the rhyme between the names of the letters E and C, /iː/ and /siː/. The "rule" was invented in the 19th century.

Questions about i before e, except after c

What does i before e, except after c mean?
I before e, except after c means in English words that contain the letters I and E together, the I tends to come before the E (ie), except in cases when the two are preceded by the letter C, in which case the E comes before the I (cei).
What is i before e, except after c the alternative letter-case form of?
I before e, except after c is the alternative letter-case form of I before E.
What part of speech is i before e, except after c?
I before e, except after c is a proverb.

Words near i before e, except after c in the dictionary

  1. I and I
  2. I approve this message
  3. I ask you
  4. I beam
  5. I beams
  6. i before e, except after c
  7. I beg your pardon
  8. I beg your pudding
  9. I believe you, thousands wouldn't
  10. I came, I saw, I conquered
  11. I can tell you

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: i before e, except after c (page history and authors); I before E, except after C (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “i before e, except after c.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/i_before_e%2C_except_after_c. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.