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The general rule is "I before E, except after C or when sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh."

The spelling rules in English are notorious for having so many exceptions.

To de-code the rule which is itself a little strange: If you have a word that contains the ie or ei combination, i before e is the general spelling. HOWEVER, if the letters appear right after the letter C, use ei. Also, if the letters have the sound of hay, bay, play, you will also use ei, as in neighbor and weigh.

So, field is correct, and so is receipt. Usually it is ie, as in field, but after c, use ei. Neighbor and weigh speak for themselves.

Don't be discouraged by the many exceptions in English; native or long-time speakers take them in stride and don't even notice most of them. But they can be a nightmare for people learning English as a second language. Native speakers of Spanish must find English a very strange language indeed, since spelling is so amazingly uniform in Spanish. There are just a few words spelled irregularly in Spanish.

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14y ago
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11y ago

The rule is, I before E exept after c or anything that starts with eigh, for example neighborhood.

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Q: What is the -ei and -ie spelling rule?
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