cheque
/t͡ʃɛk/
"cheque" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“cheque” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,124 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #15,124
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A written order directing a bank to pay money to a person or entity.
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
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for cheque is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /t͡ʃɛk/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,124 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "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.
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"?
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Using “cheque”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-E-Q-U-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /t͡ʃɛk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “clique” - see the side-by-side comparison. cheque vs clique
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
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.