CHAPTER 21

Using ch and tch

Hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of English words contain the digraph ch. It can be used at the

beginning, in the middle, or at the end of a word. The problem is when to use ch and when to use tch. The
spelling rules are quite simple, and the anomalies number less than a dozen.

Note that lieutenant is an interesting word. The British pronounce it lef-tenant, while the Americans
pronounce it loo-tenant. The Latin root is locum tenens, a phrase that is still used by lawyers and which
means a person acting for somebody else, an official representative. We still use the word lieu (“in lieu
of”), which is pronounced loo. Therefore, the American pronunciation is historically more accurate and
linguistically correct.

Spelling rule #1: The tch is used after a short vowel. It is used mainly in single syllable words, but
when used in multisyllable words, it will be part of a short vowel syllable:

(^) Note that no commonly used English word starts with tch.
Spelling rule #2: After a long vowel or a consonant, we usually use the simple ch:
(^) But there are anomalies:
(^) Note that both breeches and britches are correct, as each obeys the spelling rule.