The correct spelling is N-O-T-I-F-I-C-A-T-I-O-N

Notification is spelled with ten letters: N, O, T, I, F, I, C, A, T, I, O, N. The word comes from the verb "notify," which means to tell someone about something. When you add the suffix "-ation" to notify, you get notification — the act or message of notifying someone.

The most common misspelling is "notifcation" — dropping the second "i" before the "c". This happens because the word has two "i"s close together, and people often skip one when typing quickly. Another mistake is "notifiation," which reverses the order of the "i" and "c".

You will see this word most often in technology contexts. Your phone sends you a notification when you get a text message. Your email program sends a notification when someone replies to you. A website might send a notification to remind you about an appointment or a sale. Learning the correct spelling matters because you will encounter it in settings menus, help articles, and instructions across nearly every device and app you use.

Key Takeaways

  • Notification has two "i"s and is spelled N-O-T-I-F-I-C-A-T-I-O-N, not "notifcation" or "notifiation".
  • The word means a message or alert that tells you something has happened or changed.
  • Notifications come from apps, websites, and devices to get your attention about something specific.
  • The root word is "notify," and "-ation" is a suffix that turns a verb into a noun.

Why the spelling trips people up

English has many words where a consonant doubles or a vowel repeats, and notification sits in that awkward middle ground. The "i" appears three times in the word — once in "notif," once in "ication," and once more in "ation." Your brain tries to compress this, especially when you are typing fast or on a phone keyboard where your fingers might skip a key.

The word also sounds like it could be spelled several ways when you say it aloud. If you pronounce it "no-tuh-fuh-KAY-shun," the individual letters do not match the sound perfectly, which is common in English but confusing when you are trying to spell from memory. The stress falls on the third syllable, which can make the earlier syllables blur together in your mind.

Autocorrect sometimes makes this worse. If you type "notifcation" once, your phone or computer might remember that misspelling and suggest it again the next time you start typing the word, reinforcing the mistake.

How notification works in everyday tech

A notification is a message your device or app sends you to alert you to something. It might pop up on your screen, appear as a badge with a number on an app icon, or show up as a sound or vibration. The purpose is always the same: to interrupt what you are doing and tell you that something needs your attention.

Your email program might send a notification when a new message arrives. Your banking app might send a notification when a payment clears. A social media app sends a notification when someone likes your post or comments on it. A calendar app sends a notification to remind you of an upcoming meeting. A weather app sends a notification when severe weather is approaching your area.

You can usually control which notifications you receive. Most apps and devices let you turn notifications on or off, choose which types of notifications you want, and decide whether they should make a sound or just appear silently on your screen. This control is important because too many notifications can be distracting, while too few might mean you miss something important.

Notification versus alert versus reminder

These three words are related but not identical. A notification is a message that tells you something has happened — usually something that just occurred or changed. An alert is often more urgent and demands your attention when ready, like a security warning or a critical system message. A reminder is something you set up in advance to tell you about something coming up, like an appointment or a task you need to complete.

In practice, people use these words interchangeably in everyday speech. Your phone might call something a "notification" while another app calls the same type of message an "alert." The technical difference matters less than understanding that all three are messages meant to get your attention. When you are reading instructions or settings menus, the exact word used usually does not change what you need to do.

Where you will see this word

Notification appears constantly in technology writing and user manuals. You might read "Turn off notifications for this app" in your phone settings. A website might say "Enable notifications to stay updated." An email program might ask "Would you like to receive notifications when new mail arrives?" Learning to recognize and spell this word correctly helps you navigate these settings without confusion.

The word also shows up in formal contexts outside of tech. A hospital might send a notification that your appointment has been rescheduled. A utility company might send a notification about a service outage. A school might send a notification about a schedule change. A government agency might send a notification about a permit or license status. In all these cases, notification means the same thing: a message telling you that something has happened or changed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it "notification" or "notifcation"?

It is "notification" with two "i"s. The correct spelling is N-O-T-I-F-I-C-A-T-I-O-N. "Notifcation" is a common misspelling that drops one of the "i"s.

What is the difference between a notification and an alert?

A notification tells you something has happened, while an alert is usually more urgent and demands when ready attention. In everyday use, people often use the words interchangeably, but alerts typically carry more weight or importance than notifications.

Can I turn off notifications on my phone?

Yes. On most phones, you can go to Settings, find the app you want to control, and toggle notifications on or off. You can usually choose which types of notifications you want to receive and whether they should make a sound or vibrate.

Why do I keep misspelling this word?

The word has two "i"s close together, which makes it straightforward to skip one when typing quickly. Saying the word aloud does not match the spelling perfectly, which is common in English but makes spelling from memory harder. Typing it correctly a few times helps your muscle memory catch up.