Dutch
/dʌt͡ʃ/
"dutch" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Dutch” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,558 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.
- #3,558
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
- 8
- tracked misspellings
- 11
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Of or pertaining to the Netherlands, the Dutch people or the Dutch language.
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 | Dutch |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /dʌt͡ʃ/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #3,558 |
| Misspellings tracked | 8 |
| Confusable pairs | 11 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Dutch” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Dutch is 5 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /dʌt͡ʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,558 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for Dutch, with forms such as "ddutch", "dtuch", and "ducth". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "duty", "duh", "duc", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: PIE word *tewtéh₂ Derived from Middle English Duch (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Middle Low German dütsch, düdesch (“German, Low German, Dutch”) and Middle Dutch dūtsch, dūtsc (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Proto-West Germanic *þiudisk, from Pro… The correct English form is Dutch, spelled D-U-T-C-H.
Definition
- 1Of or pertaining to the Netherlands, the Dutch people or the Dutch language.
- 2Pertaining to Germanic-speaking peoples on the European continent, chiefly the Germans (especially established German-speaking communities in parts of the USA), or the Dutch; Teutonic; Germanic.
- 3Substitute, inferior, ersatz.
- 4Thrifty.
- 5Pertaining to Afrikaner culture (Cape Dutch).
Etymology
PIE word *tewtéh₂ Derived from Middle English Duch (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Middle Low German dütsch, düdesch (“German, Low German, Dutch”) and Middle Dutch dūtsch, dūtsc (“German, Low German, Dutch”), from Proto-West Germanic *þiudisk, from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz (“of one’s people”), derived from *þeudō (“people”), from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂. Doublet of Deutsch and Doitsu. Compare Middle English thedisch (“native, endemic”) from Old English þēodisċ (“of one’s people”), Old Saxon thiudisk (German Low German düütsch (“German”)), Old High German diutisc (modern German deutsch (“German”)), modern Dutch Duits (“German”) alongside elevated Diets (“Dutch”) (a secondary distinction, fully accepted only in the 19th century). See also Derrick, Teuton, Teutonic. The pejorative senses (Dutch courage, Dutch wife, Dutch uncle, etc.) are said to stem from the Anglo-Dutch Wars and the accompanying rivalry.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: ddutch,dtuch,ducth,dutcch,dutchh,duthc,duttch,udtch
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Dutch - 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
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Using “Dutch”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is D-U-T-C-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /dʌt͡ʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “duty” - see the side-by-side comparison. Dutch vs duty
- 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.