Personal or personnel: which is correct?
Correct
personal (private, one's own) / personnel (the staff of an organisation)
Avoid
personal (for staff: "the personal department")
Avoid
personnel (for "private")
Summary
Correct: personal (private, one's own) / personnel (the staff of an organisation) — Avoid: personal (for staff: "the personal department") / personnel (for "private"). Personal = belonging to or concerning a particular person, private; personnel = the people employed by an organisation, or the department that manages them.
- Part of speech
- adjective / noun
- Source
- Oxford
Why
Oxford: personal is an adjective stressed on the first syllable; personnel is a noun stressed on the last syllable (from French personnel) and always refers to people collectively. The double n and the stress tell them apart.
Examples
- Please keep personal items in your locker.
- All personnel must wear an ID badge on site.
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