Recommendation or Recomendation: Correct Spelling Explained

If you are wondering whether “recommendation or recomendation” is correct, the answer is simple: recommendation is the correct spelling. Recomendation is a common misspelling and should not be used in standard English.

The word is a noun meaning a suggestion, piece of advice, or statement that someone or something is suitable. This spelling can be confusing because the word contains several letters that are easy to miss when writing quickly.

In this guide, you will learn the correct spelling, its origin, pronunciation, British and American usage, common mistakes, real-life examples, and an easy memory trick. (Merriam-Webster)

Quick Answer

The correct spelling is recommendation.

Recommendation = correct
Recomendation = incorrect

The correct spelling contains two m’s:

R-E-C-O-M-M-E-N-D-A-T-I-O-N

For example:

Correct: I need your recommendation for a good restaurant.
Incorrect: I need your recomendation for a good restaurant.

Recommendation means advice, a suggestion, or an expression of support for someone or something. Major English dictionaries list recommendation as the standard noun form.

The Origin of Recommendation

The word recommendation has a long history in the English language. It entered English in the early 15th century from Old French recommendation, which came from Medieval Latin recommendatio.

The word is connected to recommend, which means to suggest, praise, or present someone or something as suitable. (Etymology Online)

The verb recommend is older. Merriam-Webster traces it to Middle English and Anglo-French, ultimately connected with Medieval Latin recommendare. Its modern sense of advising or suggesting something developed later. (Merriam-Webster)

The noun recommendation has been used for centuries. A letter of recommendation, for example, has been recorded since around the 15th century. (Etymology Online)

The spelling is therefore not a British English versus American English difference. Both varieties use recommendation.

British English vs American English Spelling

There is no spelling difference between British English and American English for this word.

Variety	Correct Spelling	Example
British English	recommendation	She gave me a recommendation.
American English	recommendation	She gave me a recommendation.
Commonwealth English	recommendation	He asked for a recommendation.
Incorrect form	recomendation	❌ Not standard English

Both British and American dictionaries give recommendation as the standard spelling. The pronunciation can have small regional differences, but the written form remains the same. (Dictionary.com)

This is important because some English learners expect every word to have separate British and American spellings. Words such as colour/color and organisation/organization can differ, but recommendation does not.

Pronunciation of Recommendation

The word recommendation is usually pronounced approximately as:

rek-uh-men-DAY-shun

Its IPA pronunciation is commonly given as:

/ˌrek.ə.menˈdeɪ.ʃən/

The strongest stress falls on the “day” sound:

recom-men-DAY-tion

The ending -tion sounds like “shun.”

This can cause confusion because people may pronounce the word quickly and focus more on its sound than its spelling. Dictionary sources show closely related British and American pronunciations, with minor differences in vowel sounds.

A useful way to say it is:

recommend + ation → recommendation

Why People Confuse Recommendation

Several factors make this word difficult to spell.

First, the word is fairly long. When people write quickly, they may leave out one of the two m’s.

Second, the pronunciation does not clearly emphasize every letter. When you hear recommendation, you do not strongly hear the repeated m.

Third, English learners may connect the word with the shorter form recommend without remembering its complete spelling.

Another common problem is visual similarity. Recomendation looks almost identical to the correct word, so a spelling mistake can easily go unnoticed during proofreading.

The best approach is to remember the spelling of recommend first:

recommend → recommendation

The correct root contains mm, and that double m remains in the noun. (Dictionary.com)

Which Spelling Should You Use?

You should always use recommendation in standard English.

Whether you are writing in:

American English
British English
Canadian English
Australian English
Academic English
Professional English
Formal business communication

the spelling remains recommendation.

If you are writing an email, school assignment, research paper, business report, website article, or recommendation letter, use the standard spelling.

For example:

Professional:
“Thank you for your recommendation.”

Academic:
“The study makes several recommendations for future research.”

Everyday:
“Do you have any recommendations?”

There is no need to change the spelling according to your audience’s country.

Common Mistakes with Recommendation

Here are some frequent spelling errors:

Incorrect	Correct
recomendation	recommendation
reccomendation	recommendation
recommedation	recommendation
recommandation	recommendation
recomondation	recommendation
recommmendation	recommendation

The most common error in the target spelling comparison is recomendation, where one m is missing. The standard spelling is recommendation. (Word Tips)

Another useful point is that recommendation comes from recommend + -ation:

recommend + ation = recommendation

Remembering the base verb can make proofreading much easier.

Recommendation in Everyday Examples

The word is common in many forms of English communication.

In an email:

Could you please give me a recommendation for a reliable laptop?

In academic writing:

The researchers made several recommendations for future studies.

In professional writing:

The committee accepted the recommendation.

In a recommendation letter:

I am pleased to provide a recommendation for Sarah.

In social media:

Any recommendations for a good movie tonight?

In everyday conversation:

Do you have a recommendation for a nearby restaurant?

In news writing:

The committee issued a recommendation after reviewing the report.

The meaning can change slightly with context, but the spelling does not.

Easy Trick to Remember Recommendation

Use this simple memory trick:

Remember “RECOMMEND” First

Think:

RE + COMMEND

The word commend means to praise or approve of someone or something.

So:

RE + COMMEND + ATION

becomes:

RECOMMENDATION

The key is the double M:

recommend → recommendation

You can also remember:

“A recommendation needs two M’s.”

Whenever you are unsure, write recommend first and then add -ation.

recommend + ation = recommendation

This is much easier than trying to memorize all 14 letters separately.

Recommendation or Recomendation – Google Trends & Usage Data

Google Trends measures relative search interest, rather than providing an exact worldwide number of searches.

Its scores are normalized on a 0–100 scale, where 100 represents the highest interest within the selected time and location. Very low-volume searches may also be excluded from the dataset. (JMIR Formative Research)

For a spelling-focused query such as “recommendation or recomendation,” the search intent is usually informational.

People are often checking which spelling is correct before using the word in an email, assignment, article, professional document, or other form of writing.

The broader word recommendation has much wider everyday usage than the misspelled form because it is the standard English noun.

Dictionaries document its use in contexts including advice, suggestions, professional recommendations, and letters of recommendation. (Merriam-Webster)

Google Trends should therefore be used as an indicator of relative search interest, not as proof of exact word frequency or exact numbers of spelling mistakes.

Comparison Table

Feature	Recommendation	Recomendation
Spelling	Correct	Incorrect
Double M	Yes	No
Standard English	Yes	No
British English	Yes	No
American English	Yes	No
Meaning	Advice or suggestion	No standard English meaning
Suitable for formal writing	Yes	No
Suitable for academic writing	Yes	No
Suitable for professional writing	Yes	No

The most important difference is simple: recommendation has two m’s.

FAQs

Is recommendation the correct spelling?

Yes. Recommendation is the correct standard English spelling. Recomendation is a misspelling. (Merriam-Webster)

Is it recommendation or recomendation?

Use recommendation. It contains two consecutive m’s:

recommendation

Does British English spell it differently?

No. British English and American English both use recommendation. The difference is not regional spelling. (Collins Dictionary)

How many m’s are in recommendation?

There are two m’s:

recoMMendation

What does recommendation mean?

A recommendation is a suggestion, piece of advice, or statement that someone or something is suitable or worthy. (Cambridge Dictionary)

How do you pronounce recommendation?

It is commonly pronounced approximately rek-uh-men-DAY-shun, with the main stress on DAY. (Dictionary.com)

What is an easy way to remember the spelling?

Remember recommend + ation. The double m in recommend stays in recommendation.

Conclusion

The correct spelling is recommendation, while recomendation is incorrect. The main spelling point to remember is the double m in recommendation.

The word is used for advice, suggestions, endorsements, and formal documents such as letters of recommendation. Both British and American English use the same spelling, so you do not need to change it based on your audience.

If you are writing an email, academic paper, business document, social media post, or professional recommendation, always choose recommendation. Remember recommend + ation, and this common spelling mistake becomes much easier to avoid.