Recieved or Received: Which Spelling Is Correct?

Recieved or received? This is one of the most common email mistakes, because the wrong spelling looks almost right at a glance. In an email, a formal letter, or a work message, the past tense form matters, because it appears in phrases like I have received your message. Only one spelling is correct, and it follows a simple rule, with a few famous exceptions to know. This guide focuses on the past tense form, received, and how to use it correctly in emails and formal writing.

Quick Answer

Quick Answer: Received is correct. Recieved, with i before e in the wrong order, is a misspelling. Received is the past tense and past participle of receive, meaning to get something. In emails, write I have received your email, or we received your message yesterday. Recieved is never correct, in any tense, in any document, formal or informal. If you see recieved in a draft, change the ie to ei, and the spelling is fixed.

Meaning of Received

Received is the past tense and past participle of receive. As a past tense, it describes an action completed in the past, as in we received your application yesterday. As a past participle, it pairs with have or has, as in I have received your email, or she has received the package. The meaning is the same in both uses: to get, accept, or take delivery of something. In emails, received is used to confirm that a message, document, or payment has arrived. That confirmation use is why the spelling matters so much in professional writing. A misspelling in a confirmation email looks careless, even when the message is clear.

Received in Emails and Formal Writing

In emails, the most common phrases are: I have received your email. We received your message yesterday. Thank you, I have received the document. Please confirm you have received this. In formal writing, received appears in letters, reports, and applications, as in we received your application on Monday, or the payment was received on time. In all these uses, the spelling is received, with ei, not recieved, with ie. A useful habit is to check the word received in every email before sending, because it appears so often in confirmations, and the ie mistake is easy to miss when reading quickly.

Present Perfect vs Past Simple With Received

Present perfect uses have or has plus received, and connects the past action to the present, as in I have received your email, meaning it arrived and I have it now. Past simple uses received alone, with a finished time, as in we received your message yesterday, or she received the letter last week. The spelling is received in both tenses. The choice between have received and received depends on time, not spelling. If the time is finished and stated, as in yesterday, use past simple, received. If the result matters now, as in I have it now, use present perfect, have received. Both forms are correct, and both use the same ei spelling.

Comparison Table

Spelling	Correct?	Example
Received	Yes	I have received your email.
Recieved	No	This is a common misspelling.
Receiving	Yes	She is receiving the package now.
Recieve	No	This is a common misspelling of the base form.

Examples in Sentences

• I have received your email, thank you.
• We received your message yesterday morning.
• She has received the package already.
• The office received twenty applications last week.
• Please let me know if you have received this document.
• He received a warm welcome at the event.

Common Mistakes

Wrong: I have recieved your email. Correct: I have received your email.

Wrong: We recieved your message. Correct: We received your message.

Wrong: She has recieved the package. Correct: She has received the package.

Wrong: Recieved in a formal letter. Correct: Received in a formal letter, always, with ei.

The mistake is almost always the same, ie written where ei belongs. The fix is to check the middle of the word: after c, write ei, not ie.

The i Before e Rule and Its Exceptions

The rule is: i before e, except after c. Received follows the rule, because after c comes ei, not ie. That is why received is spelled with ei, and recieved, with ie after c, breaks the rule. The rule has famous exceptions, where ei appears without a preceding c, or ie appears after c in a different pattern. Examples of exceptions are weird, seize, and science. Weird is spelled with ei, but there is no c before it. Seize is spelled with ei, but there is no c before it. Science is spelled with ie after c, but it is a different word pattern, from Latin, and it does not follow the simple rule. These exceptions do not change received. Received follows the rule, ei after c, and it is spelled that way in every tense.

Synonyms

Synonyms for received include got, obtained, and accepted, depending on the sense. Got is informal, as in I got your email, and it works in casual messages, but received is better in formal writing. Obtained is formal, as in she obtained the document, and it suits reports and applications. Accepted means took or agreed to something, as in he accepted the award, and it fits when the sense is agreement, not just delivery. In emails, received remains the standard choice for confirmations, because it is clear, formal, and expected by readers.

Frequently Asked Questions About Recieved or Received

Tips to Remember

Remember the rule: i before e, except after c. Received has a c, so after c comes ei, giving received. A simple memory aid is: c plus ei equals received. Check the middle of the word in every email before sending, because received appears so often in confirmations. Other tricky spellings also become easier when you learn the rule behind them, instead of guessing letter by letter.

For the base form, see Recieve or Receive.

Conclusion

Received is correct, and recieved is a misspelling. Received is the past tense and past participle of receive, used in emails and formal writing to confirm that something arrived. Remember, after c comes ei, and the spelling will be right every time.