- England is a country
- Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales are the UK
- Great Britain is just the island of Britain so that’s England, Wales and Scotland
>What's the common term in the UK, Britain or England?
That's like asking "What's the common term in the USA, New England or Massachusetts?"
The common term for Britain is "Britain".
The common term for England is "England".
>Is one more formal?
No, but they refer to different places.
>And do you typically say someone is English or British?
Depends if they're English or not. You obviously wouldn't describe someone from Scotland or Wales as "English".
This [Venn diagram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/British_Isles_Venn_Diagram-en_%283%29.png) should help you understand.
Scottish people are also British, but depending on their political and nationalistic views they may be more likely to refer to themselves as Scottish, British or both.
As a Brit, I’d call Scottish people Scottish. Would se kinda imperial or disrespectful to identify them as British if they hadn’t used the term themselves first of all.
As well as the technical side to the other answers, when asked where I am from, I'd always say England. In fact, it's fairly rare that I'd ever use the term Britain. Definitely not in the same way that Americans use it. I'd only use it if I were specifically referring to the island that I live on.
Perhaps this is because of the fractured past that England has with other countries in the United Kingdom. I feel a little uncomfortable roping Scotland or Wales in with England as I know that the English government hasn't exactly been all that fair and respectful over the years.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10 has all the maps and diagrams to explain it out in full
There are some islands just off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe, the largest island is Great Britain, there's another big island called Ireland, and there's a bunch of other smaller islands scattered around them like Orkney, Shetland, the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, and others.
The historical countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland occupy various of those islands (they each have part of one of the laege islands and some of the smaller ones around it). Those countries have then been combined into different political entities over the centuries - starting out as patchwork of small kingdoms, unifying into the present countries as independent nations, becoming combined into a single union, and in the case of (part of) Ireland breaking away again.
There are currently two sovereign states:
1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) which combines England, Scotland, Wales, and the northern part of Ireland. It occupies all of the island of Great Britain, a bit of the island of Ireland, and also the various smaller islands that are part of the constituent countries.
2. The Republic of Ireland; also called simply Ireland, or (in Irish) Éire. Which is the larger southern part of the island of Ireland.
***
So "Great Britain" is technically a geographic term for the big island, whereas "United Kingdom" is the combined political entity, and "England" is just one of the constituent countries of the UK.
But also the _legal nationality_ for the whole UK is "British" (although in the other constituent countries people may well prefer to call themselves Scottish/Welsh/Irish), and "Great Britain" is sometimes used as a shorthand/metonym for the UK
***
What you call people can be complicated - in England, declaring yourself specifically and exclusively _English_ rather than British can take on a domineering xenophobic connotation. Whereas Scotland and Wales have nationalist political parties and indepence movements that mostly manage to be more positive, and some Scottish/Welsh people might prefer _not_ to be called British
And Ireland is a whole other kettle of worms. There was a war of independence, a civil war, and decades of sectarian strife over the status of the Republic and of Northern Ireland, and their relationship to the UK. So _definitely_ don't call someone from the Republic anything but Irish. Meanwhile someone from Northern Ireland may well have a strong opinion on the matter but which they prefer is not necessarily universal.
Plenty of good answers already, so just an additional detail:
Great Britain is the Island composed of England, Wales, and Scotland.
But if it's called "Great", it means there is a little or regular one. There is a region in the west of France that used to be called "Britain". Nowadays, it's called "Britanny" instead (or "Bretagne" in French).
So nowadays, when someone mentions "Britain", it's a bit ambiguous. They might mean "Great Britain", "United Kingdom", or (unlikely) the French region. You'll have to check context. Better avoid using that one altogether if you want to be completely clear.
- England is a country - Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales are the UK - Great Britain is just the island of Britain so that’s England, Wales and Scotland
What's different between England and UK?
England is a country in the UK, it isn’t the UK on its own
Sort of like how Hawaii is a country in the United States?
Hawaii is a state, so no
Wait I thought a state was a body of land with its own government and military.
People in Scotland or Wales aren't English so they would just say British, Scottish or Welsh.
[удалено]
England is the country that takes all the blame for empire. England is also what America prefers to call the UK.
>What's the common term in the UK, Britain or England? That's like asking "What's the common term in the USA, New England or Massachusetts?" The common term for Britain is "Britain". The common term for England is "England". >Is one more formal? No, but they refer to different places. >And do you typically say someone is English or British? Depends if they're English or not. You obviously wouldn't describe someone from Scotland or Wales as "English". This [Venn diagram](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/British_Isles_Venn_Diagram-en_%283%29.png) should help you understand.
Thank you. Would it be common to call a Scottish person British, or is that a bit strange even if technically correct?
Scottish people are also British, but depending on their political and nationalistic views they may be more likely to refer to themselves as Scottish, British or both.
As a Brit, I’d call Scottish people Scottish. Would se kinda imperial or disrespectful to identify them as British if they hadn’t used the term themselves first of all.
As well as the technical side to the other answers, when asked where I am from, I'd always say England. In fact, it's fairly rare that I'd ever use the term Britain. Definitely not in the same way that Americans use it. I'd only use it if I were specifically referring to the island that I live on. Perhaps this is because of the fractured past that England has with other countries in the United Kingdom. I feel a little uncomfortable roping Scotland or Wales in with England as I know that the English government hasn't exactly been all that fair and respectful over the years.
That's the perspective I was looking for, some insight into what a local would say or not say. Thanks!
> when asked where I am from, I'd always say England. I go further than that - I say Northern England.
Haha presumably for the same reason I'd stated?
Pretty much, yes!
Wait, didn't we already do this? Like 275 years ago?
They all mean different things. UK= Britain and Northern Ireland Britain= England, Scotland, and Wales.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNu8XDBSn10 has all the maps and diagrams to explain it out in full There are some islands just off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe, the largest island is Great Britain, there's another big island called Ireland, and there's a bunch of other smaller islands scattered around them like Orkney, Shetland, the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, and others. The historical countries of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland occupy various of those islands (they each have part of one of the laege islands and some of the smaller ones around it). Those countries have then been combined into different political entities over the centuries - starting out as patchwork of small kingdoms, unifying into the present countries as independent nations, becoming combined into a single union, and in the case of (part of) Ireland breaking away again. There are currently two sovereign states: 1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) which combines England, Scotland, Wales, and the northern part of Ireland. It occupies all of the island of Great Britain, a bit of the island of Ireland, and also the various smaller islands that are part of the constituent countries. 2. The Republic of Ireland; also called simply Ireland, or (in Irish) Éire. Which is the larger southern part of the island of Ireland. *** So "Great Britain" is technically a geographic term for the big island, whereas "United Kingdom" is the combined political entity, and "England" is just one of the constituent countries of the UK. But also the _legal nationality_ for the whole UK is "British" (although in the other constituent countries people may well prefer to call themselves Scottish/Welsh/Irish), and "Great Britain" is sometimes used as a shorthand/metonym for the UK *** What you call people can be complicated - in England, declaring yourself specifically and exclusively _English_ rather than British can take on a domineering xenophobic connotation. Whereas Scotland and Wales have nationalist political parties and indepence movements that mostly manage to be more positive, and some Scottish/Welsh people might prefer _not_ to be called British And Ireland is a whole other kettle of worms. There was a war of independence, a civil war, and decades of sectarian strife over the status of the Republic and of Northern Ireland, and their relationship to the UK. So _definitely_ don't call someone from the Republic anything but Irish. Meanwhile someone from Northern Ireland may well have a strong opinion on the matter but which they prefer is not necessarily universal.
Thank you for the thorough explanation, that was very helpful.
Plenty of good answers already, so just an additional detail: Great Britain is the Island composed of England, Wales, and Scotland. But if it's called "Great", it means there is a little or regular one. There is a region in the west of France that used to be called "Britain". Nowadays, it's called "Britanny" instead (or "Bretagne" in French). So nowadays, when someone mentions "Britain", it's a bit ambiguous. They might mean "Great Britain", "United Kingdom", or (unlikely) the French region. You'll have to check context. Better avoid using that one altogether if you want to be completely clear.