manner

The word manner means a way of doing something, as in Please exit the building in an orderly manner. The plural form manners refers to polite ways of behaving. A manor is a mansion or the main house of an estate.

Both words are always used as nouns, and they are pronounced exactly the same.

Manner has a few different meanings, but they mostly all relate to how things are done or how someone behaves.

The word manor once commonly referred to an estate (the tract of land itself), but it eventually came to refer to the large house on the estate. Still, a house that you’d call a manor is usually a big mansion surrounded by a lot of land.

For example, the mansion where Bruce Wayne lives is called Wayne Manor. A good way to remember the spelling is to ask the question: Who lives in Wayne Manor—is it Batman or Bruce Wayne?

As for how to remember the spelling of manner, just remember that it would be not nice to spell it without two n’s (just downright impolite, really).

Here’s an example of manor and manner used correctly in a sentence.

Example: The grounds of the manor were decorated in a stately manner, with beautiful gardens and hedges.

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between manner and manor.

Should manner or manor be used in the following sentence?

Actors often develop a unique _____ of speaking for the character they are playing.