such
/sʌt͡ʃ/
"such" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“such” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #146 in English word frequency and used as a determiner.
- #146
- frequency rank, English
- 4
- letters
- 6
- tracked misspellings
- 20
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Like this, that, these, those; used to make a comparison with something implied by context.
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 | such |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Determiner |
| IPA | /sʌt͡ʃ/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #146 |
| Misspellings tracked | 6 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “such” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for such is 4 letters long, classified as a determiner, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /sʌt͡ʃ/. Corpus data places it at rank #146 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for such, with forms such as "scuh", "ssuch", and "succh". 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, "sun", "sum", "sue", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English such, swuch, swich, swilch, swulch, from Old English swelċ, from Proto-West Germanic *swalīk, from Proto-Germanic *swalīkaz (“so formed, so like”), equivalent to so + like. Cognate with Scots swilk, sic, sik (“such”), Saterland Frisian s… The correct English form is such, spelled S-U-C-H.
Definition
- 1Like this, that, these, those; used to make a comparison with something implied by context.
- 2Any.
- 3Used as an intensifier roughly equivalent to very much (of), quite or rather.
- 4Used as an intensifier roughly equivalent to very much (of), quite or rather.
- 5A certain; representing the object as already particularized in terms which are not mentioned.
Etymology
From Middle English such, swuch, swich, swilch, swulch, from Old English swelċ, from Proto-West Germanic *swalīk, from Proto-Germanic *swalīkaz (“so formed, so like”), equivalent to so + like. Cognate with Scots swilk, sic, sik (“such”), Saterland Frisian suk (“such”), West Frisian suk, sok (“such”), Low German sülk, sulk, suk (“such”), Dutch zulk (“such”), German solch (“such”), Danish slig (“like that, such”), Swedish slik (“such”), Icelandic slíkur (“such”). More at so, like.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: scuh,ssuch,succh,suchh,suhc,usch
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of such - 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 “such”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-C-H - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /sʌt͡ʃ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “sun” - see the side-by-side comparison. such vs sun
- 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.