What’s the difference between homework and housework?

This week we are looking at two words which are commonly confused because of their similar spellings: homework and housework.

homework

child doing homework at a desk

Homework is work that school pupils are given to do at home. You say that pupils ‘do homework’. You don’t say that they `make homework‘.

Have you done your English homework?

Homework is an uncountable noun.

housework

a person doing housework

Housework is work such as cleaning or washing that is done in a house.

She relied on us to do most of the housework.

Housework is an uncountable noun.


Find out more in our English Usage article.

This blogpost is based on Collins COBUILD English Usage, written for learners of English. For more examples of English usage points, please visit:  https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/english-usage.

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.

Other Articles

What’s the difference between exhausted, exhausting and exhaustive?

This week we are looking at a few words that could be confusing for some learners of English: exhausted, exhausting, and exhaustive. exhausted If you are exhausted, you are very tired. At the end of the day I felt exhausted. Read More

What’s the difference between collaborate and cooperate?

This week we are looking at two words which may be confused by learners of English: collaborate and cooperate. collaborate When people collaborate on a project, they work together in order to produce something. For example, two writers can collaborate to produce a single piece of… Read More

What’s the difference between generally and mainly?

This week we are looking at two words which may be confused by learners of English: generally and mainly. generally Generally means `usually’, `in most cases’, or `on the whole’. Paperback books are generally cheapest. His answer was generally correct. mainly Use mainly, rather than ‘generally’, to say that… Read More