Which to use
“welch” and “witch” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #17,993
- “welch” frequency rank
- #6,019
- “witch” frequency rank
- 24012
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | welch | witch |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A person who defaults on an obligation, especially a small one. | A person (now usually particularly a woman) who uses magical or similar supernatural powers to influence or predict events. |
Where the eye mixes welch and witch
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses welch with witch
A purely visual mix-up. welch (/wɛlt͡ʃ/) and witch (/wɪt͡ʃ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 24012, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
welch is recorded at frequency rank #17,993, classified as anoun, pronounced /wɛlt͡ʃ/. witch is at rank #6,019, tagged as anoun, pronounced /wɪt͡ʃ/.
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 24012, this pair ranks #405,130 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of welch vs witch
Shared letters: chw. Private to "welch": el. Private to "witch": it.
"welch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC · "witch" · 5 letters · shape CVCCC
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "welch" for "witch" ever safe?
Which is more common, "welch" or "witch"?
What to do next
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "welch" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "witch" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #405,130 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "welch" and "witch" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "welch vs wench". 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 #405,130 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.