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cheap  –  cheep

[‘cheap’ rhymes with ‘cheep’, as in 'peep']

“Cheap” means ‘low in price; not very good in quality or durability; not needing much money; very bad/indecent in behaviour’,

e.g.

Although she is rich, she wears cheap dresses.

Nobody likes him for his cheap talk. [i.e. indecent or vulgar language or topic]

“Cheep” means ‘the weak or high calls (sounds) made by young birds’,

e.g.

The woods near our farm house are full of birds and their cheeps at this time of the year.

Common Errors:

1.

The teachers’ salaries here are very cheap.  [wrong]

The teachers’ salaries here are very low.      [right]

2.

The weekly payments were cheaper than they had expected.       [wrong]

The weekly payments were less (lower) than they had expected. [right]

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