Revised as of
11 Jan 2023
Whee, we almost wee-weed all the way home . . . we were laughing so hard in that wee car.
You’ve probably guessed that we vs wee vs whee is also an heterograph (a subset of homophone). Kind of hard to miss that one, lol.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| We | Wee | Whee |
|---|---|---|
We the People by Peter Griffin is under the CC0 license, via Public Domain Pictures.net. — A perfect example of added emphasis to a noun. |
The Wee One by 1041483 is under the Pixabay License, via Pixabay. |
Roller Coaster Ride is under the CC0 license, via Max Pixel. — Whee!! |
| Part of Grammar: | ||
| Pronoun, first person plural | Adjective 1; Noun 2; Verb, intransitive 2
Plural for the noun: wee Third person present verb: wees |
Exclamation |
Used by a speaker to refer to him- or herself and one or more other people considered together
[The royal we] Used in formal contexts for or by a royal person to refer to him- or herself [The editorial we] Used by editors, writers, etc., to avoid the too personal or specific I or to represent a collective viewpoint Used condescendingly or with sarcasm to refer to the person being addressed Used in the predicate following a linking verb Used to provide extra information to a noun, especially for emphasis |
Adjective: Little 1
Very early Noun:
Verb, intransitive: |
Used to express delight, excitement, or exhilaration |
| Examples: | ||
| Shall we have a drink?
Why don’t we get together next week? Nobody knows kids better than we teachers do. We should eat as varied and well-balanced a diet as possible. We do not wear this crown without humility. As for this column, we will have nothing to do with shady politicians. In this section we discuss the reasons. How are we today? We know that’s naughty, don’t we. It is we who should thank you. We Americans are a sturdy lot. |
Adjective: It happened when I was just a wee bairn. We were out drinking and dancing till the wee hours. Just a wee one for me, Jock. Noun: I went in for a wee. Do a wee before we go! Verb, intransitive: Geez, the kid weed everywhere. I gotta stop laughing, or I’ll wee in this chair! |
As the car began to bump down the track he felt a lightening of his spirits — whee!
Whee! This is fun, Mom. I feel rather like I just got off a roller coaster — whee! I mean, you’ve been waiting for it since the first episode, and once it finally happens . . . whee! |
| Derivatives: | ||
| Adjective: weer, weest Noun: wee-wee Verb, intransitive: wee-wee |
||
| History of the Word: | ||
| Old English, of Germanic origin and related to the Dutch wij and the German wir. |
|
A natural exclamation, it was first recorded in English in the 1920s. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for We vs Wee vs Whee
Apple Dictionary.com
Dictionary.com: we
Lexico.com: whee
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Permission was kindly granted by Eric Landis, an owner of TowWhee.com, to useTowWhee, which perfectly shows parents how to keep their children safe and active.
