Personal vs Personnel
Personal and Personnel may look and sound similar, but they have different meanings and uses. Personal is an adjective that means “pertaining to an individual’s private life.” Personnel, on the other hand, is a noun that means a group of people associated with a business or organization.
Here are some definitions and examples to help clarify the meaning of these words.
Personal (adjective)
Pertaining to an individual’s private life.
Examples:
She didn’t want to talk about her personal problems.
The rockstar had his own personal chef.
In the both examples, personal acts as an adjective to describe a noun pertaining to an individual’s private life. In the first example, personal refers to a problem specific to one individual. In the second example, personal refers to a chef who works only for one individual.
Personnel (noun)
A group of people associated with a business or organization.
Examples:
The company is undergoing some personnel changes.
Human Resources manages all matters concerning personnel, from recruiting, to hiring, to overseeing benefits programs.
In both examples, personnel refers to the staff of a company or organization.
Main Points
- Personal is an adjective that means “pertaining to an individual’s private life.”
- Personnel is a noun that means a group of people associated with a business or organization.