Flash drive or flash drive - how to? This question was asked at least once by almost every modern person. But in order to get the correct answer, you need to familiarize yourself with some of the rules of the Russian language that relate to the spelling of the letters βeβ and βeβ.
general information
How do you spell - "flash drive" or "flash drive"? The problem with the correct answer is that if we follow one rule, then we must write the letter βeβ, and if we follow another, βeβ. It is such inconsistency that makes a person think about the correct spelling of the word "flash drive". Let's try to solve this problem and get acquainted with the basic rules for writing the letters "e" and "e".
The letter "e" is not at the junction of morphemes in the root of foreign words
Perhaps it is with this rule that we will determine how the word "flash drive" is written. So, βeβ is used:
- in the unconditional beginning of the word (egofuturism, evolution, acquiring, existential, instance, eclair, ecru, ecology, exclusive, ecstasy, express cafe, extrovert, elevator, red blood cells, ex-champion, electro-inductive, epoch-making, endocrine, etc.);
- after vowels in open syllables (Venezuela, aeration, duet, kalanchoe, influenza, Cornish, maestro, luez, maestozo, poetry, muezzin, pre-Raphaelites, spirituals, figurine, Puerto Ricans, Tower, ueed, Schopenhuera;
- after strong consonants (blackout, rem, vice mayor, Gaelic, geg, kendo, laptop, cat, Manhattan, city hall, maine, mini-van, racketeer, netsuke, rayleigh, sensei, sandwich, taekwondo, udege, thatcherism, etc. )
The letter "e" at the junction of morphemes in foreign words
A flash drive or a flash drive? The letter "e" in foreign words is written:
- in a post-prefix position (demulsification, aero-emotional, dielectric, coenzymes, co-evolution, re-evacuation, superelite, sub-equatorial, re-export, etc.);
- in complex words and complex words after the base, which ends in a vowel (bioecological, anti-electron, bicycle ergometer, cryoelectronics, cinema epic, lyric-epic, meningoencephalitis, macroeconomics, meta-ethnic, neoendemic, multi-screen, polyethylene, television, stereo-extremism also in words ending with -hedron (octahedron, polyhedron, hexahedron, etc.);
- in complicated and complex words after the stem ending with the consonant (demecology, bromoethane, quintessence, counter-enamel, color equivalent, laminectomy, medical examination, life squadron, net etiquette, rhythm and blues, panellinism, etc.).
The letter "e" in foreign full and letter abbreviations
Such words are written according to the names of the letters of the source language. For example, the word "e" is written in the word CNN.
The letters "e" and "e" in foreign words after vowels
The spelling of the letters "e" and "e" is determined by such rules:
- After the vowels "e" and "and" we write "e". For example: registry, hell, extravaganza, hygiene, diet, sharp, siesta, realtor, fiesta, spaniel. Words that end in "-ent" are written with the letter "e". In some cases, it transmits a stressed vowel (client, entrant, coefficient, patient, ingredient, etc.). In certain words, βeβ is intended to convey an unstressed vowel: leer, fan, jesuit, player, character, jesuit, hierarchy, pyelitis, myelitis, trier, reverence, requiem.
Exceptions:
1. After "e" can be written "ye". This applies to the words fireworks and conveyor.
2. Some proper names contain the letter "e", which is written after the "and": Glier, Marietta.
- βEβ is written after the letters βaβ, βoβ, βuβ, βuβ. The letter βeβ in a word conveys a vowel under stress: duet, duel, minuet, maestro, poet, pirouette, poem, poetry, figurine, silhouette. Words with the initial part of βaeroβ are also written with βeβ: an airfield. The letter βeβ conveys a vowel without stress: canoe, firewall, luez, coefficient, maestoso, phaeton, muezzin, fouet. And also in their own names: Wales, Puerto Rico, Hemingway, Laertes, Aelita, Maugham.
Exceptions: in such words βeβ is written:
1) design, project, projector, projection and other single-root;
2) introjection, trajectory;
3) in words with the ending "-er": gaer, buer, interviewer, fraer, etc.
In addition, the letter βeβ is written in words that have the β-hedronβ as the second part, regardless of the previous letter: octahedron, hexahedron, rhombohedron, tetrahedron, polyhedron, trihedron.
Spelling "e" in Russian words
According to the rules of the Russian language, the letter βeβ is written only in the following Russian words: this, e, that way, that way, ek, that, eh, hey, eva, ehma, ege.
The letters "e" and "e" after a solid consonant
"Flash drive or flash drive" - ββhow to? After the consonants, the letter βeβ is not written at the beginning of the root in order to convey the vowel βeβ and indicate the hardness of the consonant in front, in such cases:
- In some foreign common noun words: master, mayor, peer, plein air, rap, racket, sir. Also in the words of derivatives of the just listed words: peerage, city hall, racketeer. If there are other words in which βeβ is written after consonants, then they are regulated by the spelling dictionary.
- The large list of proper names of foreign origin: 1) in personal names and surnames - David, Bacon, Deng Xiaoping, Salinger, Rambo, Davis, Sam, Rayleigh, Sesson, Teffi, Thatcher; 2) in geographical names - Ulan-Ude, Taipei, Yellow River, Maryland. Also, βeβ is stored in derivative words from proper names and when they become noun: Rayleigh, Ulan-Ude, Sesson, etc.
- If a word is written with the letter βeβ, then it is also written after adding a prefix to it: save, test.
- The letter βeβ is also written in abbreviations and abbreviated words: NEP, political economy.
A flash drive or a flash drive? In other cases, after consonants, the word βeβ is not written at the beginning of the root. But nevertheless, in foreign words that are written with "e", the consonant standing in front of her is sometimes pronounced firmly. So, in such words βeβ is written after letters that convey a strong consonant: dandy, baby, model, delta, cousin, eczema, slang, inertia, businessman, phonetics, rugby, chapel, dispensary, rating, setter, stalls, cottage , pace, stand and many others.
The letter βeβ is written in non-declining common nouns after successively spelled consonants: chimpanzee, meringue, macramΓ©, pince-nez, resume, tour, corrugation, coupe, mashed potatoes, cabaret, dash, fricassee, essay, highway, variety show, cafe, karate, decollete.
In addition to these cases, βeβ is written in foreign words with the suffix β-essaβ: poetess, baroness, stewardess. And also in some proper names: Nehru, Carmen, Brehm, Roerich, Taylor, Dantes, Saint-Gotthard, Delphi.
The word "flash drive" as spelled? To summarize
Having studied the above rules, we can conclude how the word "flash drive" is spelled correctly. Using a rule that says that in words of foreign origin after a consonant that sounds solid, the letter βeβ is written, we can say that in this word the consonant βlβ sounds solid, so it seems to be how to write the letter βeβ. But we know that there are exceptions to this rule, and after a solid consonant, βeβ can be written.

That is, it turns out that you can write the word "flash drive" with "e". So, we get a contradiction. Still, a "flash drive" or a "flash drive"? We see that our word does not refer to the main words (peer, mayor, rap, etc.), in which βeβ is written after a solid consonant. Therefore, we recommend that in connection with the widespread use of this word in Russian speech, which is associated with the rapid development of information technology, still write the word "flash drive" through "e". After all, even if you study well-known search engines, you can see that the word "flash drive" is everywhere written with the letter "e". If you still need to explain the spelling of the word βflash driveβ with the letter βeβ on the basis of existing rules, then you can rely on some sources that claim that βeβ is written in Russian and foreign words after consonants, but the words peer, sir, etc. are the exception.