The Difference Between “While” and “Whilst”

15 Responses to “The Difference Between “While” and “Whilst””

1. Jujubear on February 24, 2009 2:35 am

   When’s the next round of stories coming out?

2. mand on February 26, 2009 12:02 pm

   As a Brit, whilst sounds quaint to me too. Some do prefer to use it, but you’ll notice that they use it when speaking to their child’s headteacher or in job interviews. In other words, in order to sound posh / clever / better bred than they are.

   Maybe some do use it instinctively even when talking to themselves, but i have trouble imagining so.

   I didn’t know whilst came in later than while, even though the former sounds earlier (the earlier sounds former?(!)); that’s a relief! I can speak the simpler way and be true to the more ‘original’ form. ;0)

3. mand on February 26, 2009 12:08 pm

   Oh, btw, they are interchangeable only if used in the sense of during – ‘She sang while bathing’ / ‘She sang whilst bathing’. But if meaning even though, you have to use while – ‘While Jack likes lean meat, his wife likes it all greasy.’ In that sense you can’t say ‘whilst’.

   Your second example, ‘I waited while breakfast was finished,’ is interesting as it would sound more natural to me to say ‘until’ instead of ‘while’. Or rather, some people – commonly in Ireland, i think, though someone will have to confirm that – use while to mean the same as until in this kind of sentence, while (whereas!) to me that gives two sentences with different meanings.

4. Cat on August 16, 2009 5:30 pm

   Whilst refers to a lesser time span, bringing poignancy to the topical area instilling emotion into the story about the first subject. (I am going to continue to tell what else was happening but please keep your focus remaining on the first subject at the beginning of the sentence.) While refers to a longer time span with less emphasis on the first subject giving equal importance if not more importance to the second subject in the sentence.

   Whilst …I… agree that there is some confusion about the word, we all continue to use it regardless.

   While I agree there is confusion, ..we.. all continue to use it regardless.

5. David Kennedy on August 26, 2009 5:45 pm

   While is literal, whilst is literary.

6. Moon (UK) on November 7, 2009 2:39 pm

   I remember asking one of my English teachers this exact same question. His answer was something along the lines of:

   “While” is normally used when simultaneity is emphasised i.e. in the sense of at the same time.

   “Whilst” can be used in the same way as while but can also be used when the writer is trying to emphasise a difference between the two ideas they are linking together e.g. I took the bus whilst Mark took the train.

7. Melissa on March 31, 2011 4:52 am

   So basically, both “while” and “whilst” can be used interchangeably with “whereas”?

8. Peter Foulds on May 31, 2011 3:46 am

   People who are insecure about their English use “whilst” when they want to sound educated. You will hear this ridiculous word on, e.g. BBC forum threads (usually along with spelling mistakes and other errors). You will never hear an educated native speaker use “whilst”. I’m not a snob; just tired of seeing my wonderful language kicked around without respect. People who use “whilst” are the real snobs.

9. Peter Foulds on May 31, 2011 10:20 am

   What’s the point?

10. Wesley on July 8, 2011 6:13 pm

    I use both ‘while’ and ‘whilst’. It all depends on the context in which it’s used. I’m from a working-class background, and live on a council estate in South Wales. I’m anything but posh!
    Judging people on the subtleties of their diction is no different to judging others on their regional accent. Get over yourselves.

11. Paul on August 25, 2011 12:26 pm

    ‘While’ and ‘whilst’ are different as they relate to time in different ways. It’s similar to the way we have different tenses depending on whether an action is completed or not.

    The perfect tense (I have done something) is a completed action in the past whereas the imperfect tense (I was doing something) is a continuing action in the past. My french teacher taught me that ‘the imperfect tense was happening when the perfect tense happened.’

    ‘Whilst’ refers to something that happened at a specific time as something else whereas ‘while’ is a more general statement.

    E.g.s
    He was tied to a lampost whilst his owner finished the shopping.

    I tend to tie hime to a lampost while I do the shopping.

    The former is a defined period of time (it ends once the shopping was finished) whereas the latter is a general continuing statement (I could still be doing the shopping or I could be doing it at any time – you can’t tell from the sentence).

12. gav on September 8, 2011 7:08 pm

    “He was tied to a lampost whilst his owner finished the shopping.”

    This is a great example. Using “while” in this case would not sound correct to a native speaker.

13. Miguele on October 22, 2011 11:47 pm

    Hi everyone. Just like Paul said, then “whilst is more like “when”? (due to the time of the action?), ex:

    I was chatting with David whilst the accident happened!

    I was chatting with David when the accident happened!

    But in the case of using “while”, the example would be:

    I was chatting with David while the accident happened in the office? store? street?

    Therefore, “while” can be used to refer to a place where the action takes or took place.

    You can say, ex:

    I am going to have dinner while you watch the movie.

    But, you can’t say:

    I am going to have dinner “when” or “whilst” you watch the movie. (it sounds very imperfect).

    Cheers everyone!

14. David Clark on January 18, 2012 10:40 pm

    Dear Peter Foulds, it seems you want to put yourself in a superior position whilst in fact not grasping the subtle difference. I use both while and whilst depending on the meaning I want to communicate, but imagine you prefer the simplified version of the language pushed on us through American/Microsoft ‘English’?

15. Hm on January 22, 2012 10:19 am

    I’m British and I have to say that I hate ‘Whilst’. I don’t know why, but it sounds and looks totally wrong to me, so I never use it. ‘While’ is the way forward!

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