A knight is a medieval warrior, a person honoured with the title Sir, or a chess piece; night is the dark time between sunset and sunrise. They sound the same, so remember that the knight has a silent k, like a sword in his armour.
The core difference
Knight is an armoured warrior, title or chess piece, whereas night is the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise.
- knight — a mounted warrior, a person honoured with the title Sir, or a chess piece: She moved her knight to threaten his queen.
- night — the period of darkness, or an evening set aside for an event: Friday is quiz night at our local pub.
How to tell them apart
These are homophones: they are pronounced exactly alike, so only the spelling tells them apart. Knight has an extra silent k at the front, a leftover from the older spelling and pronunciation. The word began in Old English as cniht, originally meaning a boy or servant.
To remember which is which, picture the k as the knight's sword or lance, something the plain word night does not need. The slip usually happens in phrases such as "a knight in shining armour" or "a night out", where writers swap them by ear.
