Especially vs specially - English In A Minute

Hi everybody! I'm Tom from BBC Learning English.

People often confuse the words

specially and especially.

Today, I'm going to tell you the difference.

Both of these words are adverbs.

Especially means 'in particular' or 'most of all'.

For example:

I like food,

but I especially like sandwiches.

This means that I particularly like sandwiches.

They're my favourite kind of food.

Specially, however, has a different meaning.

Specially means

'for a particular purpose' or 'in a particular way'.

So:

This sandwich was specially made.

Dan made a special sandwich just for me.

Thank you, Dan!