Free printable · digraphs

ch words for kids

Ch is a digraph that makes the sneezing sound in chip and lunch. Like sh, it is one sound, so children read it best as a pair of letters that belong together.

This page has 35 ch words in 3 groups: ch at the start, ch at the end, and the tch spelling that comes straight after a short vowel, as in catch and match.

ch at the start

  • champ
  • chat
  • check
  • chess
  • chest
  • chick
  • chill
  • chimp
  • chip
  • chop
  • chug
  • chunk

ch at the end

  • bench
  • bunch
  • crunch
  • inch
  • lunch
  • much
  • munch
  • pinch
  • punch
  • ranch
  • rich
  • such

tch at the end

  • catch
  • ditch
  • fetch
  • hatch
  • hutch
  • itch
  • match
  • notch
  • patch
  • pitch
  • witch

How to use this list

  1. Show your child that the t in tch is silent: match and much end in the same sound. The t is there because the vowel before it is short.
  2. Keep sessions short: a few minutes a day beats one long session a week.
  3. Ask your child to say each sound and then blend them into the word. If they guess from the first letter, cover the word and go sound by sound again.
  4. Print the flashcards, mix them up, and read them out of order once the list feels easy, so your child is reading the word and not remembering the list.

Frequently asked questions

When is it ch and when is it tch?

Right after a short vowel at the end of a one-syllable word, the sound is usually spelled tch (catch, fetch, pitch). After a consonant, or in a few common words such as much, rich and such, it is just ch.

Does ch always sound like chip?

In early reading, nearly always. Later your child will meet words such as school, where ch says /k/, but those can wait.

How is ch different from sh?

Sh is a long, quiet sound you can hold. Ch is a short burst you cannot hold. Saying shop and chop one after the other helps children hear the difference.

Free: the 10-minute daily phonics routine

Four short steps you can do with your child every day: sounds, blending, reading and a quick chat about the story. One printable page.

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