I before E, except after C
proverbEtymology Formed because of the rhyme between the names of the letters E and C, /iː/ and /siː/. The "rule" was invented in the 19th century.
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Communications, Journalism, Literature, Media, Orthography, Publishing, Writing Mnemonic In English words that contain the letters I and E together, the I tends to come before the E (ie), except in cases when the two are preceded by the letter C, in which case the E comes before the I (cei).