speech

/spiːt͡ʃ/

//spiːt͡ʃ// noun

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

"speech" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“speech” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,506 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,506
frequency rank, English
6
letters
9
tracked misspellings
15
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The ability to speak; the faculty of uttering words or articulate sounds and vocalizations to communicate.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

speech vs speed
67% similar
speech vs speer
67% similar
speech vs speeds
67% similar

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

Key facts for speech
PropertyValue
Headwordspeech
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/spiːt͡ʃ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#1,506
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs15
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “speech” 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). speech lands here:

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

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

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for speech is 6 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /spiːt͡ʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,506 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for speech, with forms such as "pseech", "sepech", and "speceh". 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 15 confusable-pair relationships, "speed", "speer", "speeds", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English speche, from Old English spǣċ, sprǣċ (“speech, discourse, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprāku (“speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *spereg-, *spreg- (“to make a sound”). Cognate with Dutch spraak (“speech”), German Spr… The correct English form is speech, spelled S-P-E-E-C-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    The ability to speak; the faculty of uttering words or articulate sounds and vocalizations to communicate.
  2. 2
    The act of speaking, a certain style of it.
  3. 3
    A formal session of speaking, especially a long oral message given publicly by one person.
  4. 4
    A dialect, vernacular, or (dated) a language.
  5. 5
    Language used orally, rather than in writing.
  6. 6
    An utterance that is quoted; see direct speech, reported speech
  7. 7
    Public talk, news, gossip, rumour.

Etymology

From Middle English speche, from Old English spǣċ, sprǣċ (“speech, discourse, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprāku (“speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *spereg-, *spreg- (“to make a sound”). Cognate with Dutch spraak (“speech”), German Sprache (“language, speech”). More at speak.

Synonyms

locutionparlancespeech

This word in other languages

habla(Español)parole(Français)Sprache(Deutsch)fala(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: pseech,sepech,speceh,spech,speecch,speechh,speehc,sppeech,sspeech

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

pseech2sepech2speceh2spech1speecch1speechh1speehc2sppeech1
Edit distance from "speech"

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 "speech"?
"speech" is spelled S-P-E-E-C-H. The IPA pronunciation is /spiːt͡ʃ/.
What does "speech" mean?
As a noun, "speech" means: The ability to speak; the faculty of uttering words or articulate sounds and vocalizations to communicate.
What words are commonly confused with "speech"?
"speech" is commonly confused with "speed", "speer", "speeds". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "speech"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "speech" is /spiːt͡ʃ/. 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 "speech"?
From Middle English speche, from Old English spǣċ, sprǣċ (“speech, discourse, language”), from Proto-West Germanic *sprāku (“speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *spereg-, *spreg- (“to make a sound”). Cognate with Dutch spraak (“speech”), ... 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.

Using “speech”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-P-E-E-C-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /spiːt͡ʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “speed” - see the side-by-side comparison. speech vs speed
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list