cheque
/t͡ʃɛk/
"cheque" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cheque” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #15,124. The variants make it a useful spelling check.
- #15,124
- frequency rank, English
- 5,599
- “C” headwords
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A written order directing a bank to pay money to a person or entity.
Corpus desk
Index EN-cheque · cheque · English
cheque · rank #15,124 · 8 variants · 11 confusables
- FREQ-MID #15,124
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
- VAR-MID 8 variants
- BOOK-DENSE 5,599
- PHOTO-FINISH Chanel
Nearest frequency peer: Chanel (-1 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “cheque”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- CBC
CBC
84,880 corpus weight
- ceremonial
ceremonial
84,879 corpus weight
- Chanel
Chanel
84,878 corpus weight
- cheque
cheque
84,877 corpus weight
- chilled
chilled
84,876 corpus weight
- cho
cho
84,875 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “cheque” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | cheque |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /t͡ʃɛk/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #15,124 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “cheque” sits in English frequency
A misspelling magnet
The generator records 8 spelling variants around cheque (IPA /t͡ʃɛk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #15,124 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A written order directing a bank to pay money to a person or entity.".
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for cheque, with forms such as "ccheque", "cehque", and "cheqeu". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "clique", "cirque", "Cherie", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: A variant of check, probably influenced exchequer. First attested in the 1790s. The correct English form is cheque, spelled C-H-E-Q-U-E.
Definition
- 1A written order directing a bank to pay money to a person or entity.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how cheque appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I was not carrying cash, so I wrote a cheque for the amount.
They do not, however, all deal with the same banker, and when A gives a cheque to B, B usually pays it not into the same but into some other bank.
Etymology
A variant of check, probably influenced exchequer. First attested in the 1790s.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as:
- ccheque
- cehque
- cheqeu
- cheqque
- cheuqe
- chheque
- chqeue
- hceque
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cheque - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "cheque"?
What does "cheque" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "cheque"?
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What is the origin of the word "cheque"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cheque", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Similar misspelling depth
Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).
What to do next
You've looked up "cheque". Here's where to go from here.
- "cheque" maps to 11 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "clique". View pair
- 8 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
- Usage frequency rank #15,124 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
- Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
- PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day
PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.