Transferrable or Transferable – Which Spelling Is Correct?

Some people, when buying assets or products, want to make sure they’ll be able to transfer their possession to a new owner if they decide to sell or give them away in the future. What’s the correct way to express this idea? Should we say “Transferrable” or “Transferable”?

Transferrable or Transferable – Which Spelling Is Correct?

The correct spelling of the word is “Transferable”, with only one “r”. The form with double “r”, which is “Transferrable”, is a common mistake that should be avoided as much as possible. When referring to something that can change hands or change ownership, use the word “Transferable”.

Take a look at the examples:

• I wish I could give you the tickets, but they’re non-transferrable. (incorrect)
• I wish I could give you the tickets, but they’re non-transferable.

• The deed of the house is transferrable upon sale. (incorrect)
• The deed of the house is transferable upon sale.

Since “Transferrable” is an incorrect form, which should be avoided, the words “Transferable” and “Transferrable” aren’t synonyms and cannot interchange.

Transferrable

“Transferrable” is a common misspelling for the word “Transferable”. It’s possible the mistake originated because the past tense of the verb “Transfer” is “Transferred” with double “r”. However, it’s not the same rule and you should keep in mind that “Transferred” is an incorrect form.

That said, “Transferrable” isn’t a word. We’ll show some examples below of sentences using the incorrect “Transferrable”, followed by a corrected version of the same sentence:

1. The conditions listed that the prize was not transferrable. (incorrect)
2. The conditions listed that the prize was not transferable.

3. I told Jenna her knowledge is transferrable, and she should train others. (incorrect)
4. I told Jenna her knowledge is transferable, and she should train others.

5. Many skills are transferrable and useful in other contexts. (incorrect)
6. Many skills are transferable and useful in other contexts.

Transferable

“Transferable” is the correct spelling for the word that refers to something that’s able to be moved or transferred locations, or that can be transferred in terms of ownership and possession (legally or figuratively).

This is how The Cambridge Dictionary defines the word “Transferable”: something “ able to be used or legally owned by someone else”.

1. Composers believe that their life experiences can be transferable to music.
2. Dom said his college credit are all transferable to the new institution he plans to attend.
3. The common cold is easily transferable.
4. How can someone’s assets be transferable to family?
5. The money is transferable, you just need to know where you wish to transfer it to.

Transferrable or Transferable In the US?

Someone might argue that there is a difference in usage for the words “Transferable” and “Transferrable”, among American English and British English speakers. We don’t believe this id the case, because we know the correct form of the word is “Transferable”. Still, let’s search for this information.

Take a look at the graph from Google Ngram Viewer below.

As expected, “Transferable” is the predominant form in the US, appearing at the top of the graph.

Although the usage for it has oscillated over the years, “Transferable” has always been the preferred form.

Transferrable or Transferable In the UK?

We are interested in looking at the UK’s use of the words “Transferable” and “Transferrable”, to see if it follows the same trend we saw in the US graph. We have reason to believe it will.

Let’s look at the graph from Google Ngram Viewer below, to assess speaking habits of British English speakers in regards to the words “Transferable” and “Transferrable”.

Following the same trend seen on the US graph, in the UK “Transferable” is used much more often than “Transferrable”.

Transferrable or Transferable In Australia and Canada?

Looking at the whole English-speaking world, including Australia and Canada, what would the graph show? We’re curious to see if the “Transferable” or “Transferrable” is used more often. And since we looked at the US and UK scenarios, we want to know if other regions would follow the same trend.

Take a look at the graph from Google Ngram Viewer below, and we shall find out.

Following the trend seen on the other graphs, “Transferable” – which is the correct form, as we know – is used much more often than the incorrect “Transferrable”. However, it’s interesting to see that in this scenario, “Transferrable” is used a little bit more than in the other two scenarios.