Which to use
“reach” is a verb and “roach” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #1,233
- “reach” frequency rank
- #16,332
- “roach” frequency rank
- 17565
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | reach | roach |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | To extend, stretch, or thrust out (for example a limb or object held in the hand). | Certain members of the fish family Cyprinidae, including: |
Where the eye mixes reach and roach
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 4 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: reach vs roach
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: reach is /ɹiːt͡ʃ/ while roach is /ɹəʊtʃ/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by a single letter - e in “reach” becomes o in “roach”, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17565, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
reach is recorded at frequency rank #1,233, classified as averb, pronounced /ɹiːt͡ʃ/. roach is at rank #16,332, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ɹəʊtʃ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 17565, this pair ranks #450,567 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of reach vs roach
Shared letters: achr. Private to "reach": e. Private to "roach": o.
"reach" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC · "roach" · 5 letters · shape CVVCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "reach" for "roach" ever safe?
Frequency check: "reach" vs "roach" - which ranks higher?
Useful next steps
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "reach" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "roach" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #450,567 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "reach" and "roach" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Roa vs roach". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #450,567 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.