rich

/ɹɪt͡ʃ/

//ɹɪt͡ʃ// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"rich" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“rich” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,318. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,318
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - Wealthy: having a lot of money and possessions.

Corpus desk

Index EN-rich · rich · English

rich · rank #1,318 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,318
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH resources

Nearest frequency peer: resources (-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 “rich”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “rich” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

rich vs rid
50% similar
rich vs Rio
25% similar
rich vs rip
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for rich
PropertyValue
Headwordrich
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɹɪt͡ʃ/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,318
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “rich” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). rich lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around rich (IPA /ɹɪt͡ʃ/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #1,318 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 14 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for rich, with forms such as "irch", "rcih", and "ricch". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "rid", "Rio", "rip", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English riche (“strong, powerful, rich”), from Old English rīċe (“powerful, mighty, great, high-ranking, rich, wealthy, strong, potent”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīkī (“powerful, rich”), from Proto-Germanic *rīkijaz (“kingly, powerful, rich”),… The correct English form is rich, spelled R-I-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Wealthy: having a lot of money and possessions.
  2. 2
    Having an intense fatty or sugary flavour.
  3. 3
    Remunerative.
  4. 4
    Plentiful, abounding, abundant, fulfilling.
  5. 5
    Yielding large returns; productive or fertile; fruitful.
  6. 6
    Composed of valuable or costly materials or ingredients; procured at great outlay; highly valued; precious; sumptuous; costly.
  7. 7
    Not faint or delicate; vivid.
  8. 8
    Very amusing.
  9. 9
    Ridiculous, absurd, outrageous, preposterous, especially in a galling, hypocritical, or brazen way.
  10. 10
    Pornographic; titillating.
  11. 11
    Elaborate, having complex formatting, multimedia, or depth of interaction.
  12. 12
    Of a solute-solvent solution: not weak (not diluted); of strong concentration.
  13. 13
    Of a solute-solvent solution: not weak (not diluted); of strong concentration.
  14. 14
    Trading at a price level which is high relative to historical trends, a similar asset, or (for derivatives) a theoretical value.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how rich appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. “A very welcome, kind, useful present, that means to the parish. By the way, Hopkins, let this go no further. We don't want the tale running round that a rich person has arrived. Churchill, my dear fellow, we have such greedy sharks, and wolves in lamb's clothing.[…]”
  2. In order to grant the rich these pleasures, the social contract is reconfigured. The welfare state is dismantled. […]

Etymology

From Middle English riche (“strong, powerful, rich”), from Old English rīċe (“powerful, mighty, great, high-ranking, rich, wealthy, strong, potent”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīkī (“powerful, rich”), from Proto-Germanic *rīkijaz (“kingly, powerful, rich”), from Proto-Germanic *rīks (“king, ruler”), an early borrowing from Proto-Celtic *rīxs, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃rḗǵs. Reinforced by Old French riche, from the same West Germanic source.

This word in other languages

rico(Español)riche(Français)reich(Deutsch)rico(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • irch
  • rcih
  • ricch
  • richh
  • rihc
  • rrich

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of rich - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

irch2rcih2ricch1richh1rihc2rrich1
Edit distance from "rich"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "rich"?
"rich" is spelled R-I-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪt͡ʃ/.
What does "rich" mean?
As an adjective, "rich" means: Wealthy: having a lot of money and possessions.
What words are commonly confused with "rich"?
"rich" is commonly confused with "rid", "Rio", "rip". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "rich"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "rich" is /ɹɪt͡ʃ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "rich"?
From Middle English riche (“strong, powerful, rich”), from Old English rīċe (“powerful, mighty, great, high-ranking, rich, wealthy, strong, potent”), from Proto-West Germanic *rīkī (“powerful, rich”), from Proto-Germanic *rīkijaz (“kingly, powerfu... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "rich", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

skin#1,319thus#1,323luck#1,312fish#1,339

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

calls6 variantsglad6 variantsgrow6 variantscars6 variants
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.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list