birch
/bɝt͡ʃ/noun, verb
birch is spelled B-I-R-C-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, birch means “Any of various trees of the genus Betula, native to countries in the Northern Hemisphere” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of birch is birches.
How many letters and syllables are in birch?
| Letters | 5: B-I-R-C-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is birch?
Birch appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce birch?
- UK /bɜːtʃ/
- US /bɝt͡ʃ/
Birch has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-birch.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with birch?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as birch from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹtʃ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of birch
- birches plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- birching participle, present
- birched participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does birch mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any of various trees of the genus Betula, native to countries in the Northern Hemisphere.
- 2
A hard wood taken from the birch tree, typically used to make furniture.
- 3
A stick, rod or bundle of twigs made from birch wood, used for punishment.
- 4
A birch-bark canoe.
verb
- 1
To punish with a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
- 2
To punish as though one were using a stick, bundle of twigs, or rod made of birch wood.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Birch in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bouleau , badine, baguette, verge , verger |
| German | Birke |
| Portuguese | bétula, vidoeiro |
| Spanish | abedul |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does birch come from?
From Middle English birche, birk, from Old English birċe, bierċe, from Proto-West Germanic *birkijā, from Proto-Germanic *birkijǭ, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerHǵos.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).