Use tch for the /ch/ sound right after a short vowel at the end of a word — everywhere else (after a consonant, a long vowel, or at the very start of a word), use ch alone. It's the same short-vowel rule as ck vs k, just applied to a different sound.
The rule in one sentence
If /ch/ comes immediately after a short vowel, spell it tch (catch, fetch, witch). If a consonant sits between the vowel and /ch/, or the vowel is long, spell it ch alone (lunch, teach). This is the same idea as the ck vs k rule — a short vowel needs the "doubled-feeling" spelling right after it.
Common exceptions
These break the short-vowel rule
Which, much, such, and rich all have a short vowel right before /ch/ but are spelled ch, not tch. They're frequent enough in everyday reading that they're worth teaching by sight as a short exception list, rather than expecting the rule to predict them.
- Listen for the vowel before /ch/. Short and clipped, or long and drawn out?
- If short with nothing between it and /ch/, try tch. Catch, fetch, and witch all follow this pattern.
- If a consonant sits before /ch/, use ch alone. Lunch and bench never take tch because n and n already sit between the vowel and the sound.
- Memorize the four common exceptions separately. Which, much, such, and rich just need to be learned by sight.
More words to practice
A few more words for each group, useful for a quick sorting activity — say each one aloud, listen for the vowel right before /ch/, and check it against the group before reading on.
- More tch words (short vowel, right before /ch/): patch, latch, notch, crutch, sketch, stretch, twitch, snatch.
- More ch words after a consonant: trench, crunch, drench, flinch, wrench, hunch.
- More ch words after a long vowel or vowel team: screech, preach, poach, roach, leech.
A fast at-home check
Write a new word on paper without its final letters and ask your child to guess tch or ch before revealing the answer. Getting it "wrong" and then hearing why is often what makes the short-vowel pattern finally click.
This pattern matters most when your child hits an unfamiliar word while reading, not just on a spelling test. A reader who's internalized the short-vowel rule can look at an unknown word like "blotch" and predict it's spelled with tch before ever seeing the ending, simply because the vowel sound before /ch/ is short and clipped. That prediction skill — guessing the likely spelling from the sound — is exactly what separates a child who's memorizing individual words from one who's learned a transferable rule.
This is one pattern among many in our full English spelling rules guide. For the closely related pattern that marks the /j/ sound instead, see DGE vs GE.
Free printable for this topic
Download the CK / TCH / DGE Spelling Cheat Sheet — a free PDF you can print and use today.