Quiz: Can you spell these seemingly simple words correctly?

The Latvian news portal Apollo.lv has published an entertaining language quiz inviting readers to test their knowledge of Latvian spelling. The quiz is built around words that seem completely ordinary and familiar in everyday use, yet are commonly misspelled.

According to the quiz's creators, many of these words have several possible spelling variants, only one of which matches the norms of standard literary Latvian. Participants are asked to pick the correct version, with the quiz framed as a quick and engaging way to test and reinforce one's language skills.

Why simple words trip people up

Spelling mistakes often occur not with complex or rare words but with ones used every day — frequent use can create a false sense of certainty about the correct spelling, which over time becomes a habit even when it does not match the actual language norms.

Quizzes of this kind are a popular online entertainment format, letting readers interactively check their knowledge and compare it with others. They can also serve an educational purpose, drawing attention to commonly made spelling mistakes in Latvian.

Apollo.lv presents the quiz as a light and quick way to pay attention to one's language proficiency in daily life, without offering further explanations or a list of the specific words outside the quiz format itself.