The Difference Between Stationery and Stationary in 5 Ways

Could you explain the difference between stationery and stationary? Would you know which spelling to use in which situation? Many of us struggle with knowing which is which. Don't make the mistake of not knowing your stationary from your stationery. Our tips will help you from preventing this grammatical error in the future!

Stationery is a noun that describes the items and tools used for office items that could be used for creating, writing, or drawing. Stationery items could be pens, pencils, scissors, envelopes, notebooks etc.

An example of using stationery might be, 'I need some new stationery for going back to school', or 'Do you know any good online stationery shops?'.

Stationery (noun), Paper and pens. Look for the 'E' in stationery. A good way to remember the difference in stationery is 'E' for 'envelope'. Also, you could associate the 'e' in stationery to 'pEns' or 'pEncils'.

Stationary is an adjective that would be used for a person or object that is not moving, not changing, or is still. 

An example of using stationary might be, 'The traffic at the moment is stationary', or 'My car is parked and is stationary'.

Stationary (adjective), Not moving or is still. To remember the difference in stationary, associate the 'ar' to a 'car'. You could also link the 'a' in stationary to 'stAnd'.