Consonants /f/ versus /ʧ/, 176 pairs     [farchar.html]

The /f/ sound is spelled with <f>, <ff>, <gh> in laugh or <ph> in Phil. The /ʧ/ sound is spelled <ch> or <tch>.

The contrast is between a labio-dental fricative and an alveolar affricate, both voiceless. It is not a problem.

Taboo word pairs include fart/chart and fuck/chuck.

Interesting pairs include:

fellow cello
filly chilly
fizzle chisel
pilfered pilchard

The mean density value is 3.1%. The list makes 96 semantic distinctions, a loading of 55%.

 	
aft arched
beef beech 
  beefed beached 
  beefing beaching 
biff  bitch 
  biffed bitched 
  biffing bitching 
brief breach 
  briefed breached 
  briefing breaching 
caff catch
effed etched 
effing etching
F etch
face chase 
  faced chased 
  faces chases 
  facing chasing 
facer chaser 
  facers chasers 
fad Chad 
fairy chary 
fain chain 
fair chair 
  fairs chairs 
far char 
fare chair
  fared chaired 
  faring chairing 
  fares chairs
farm charm 
  farmed charmed 
  farming charming 
  farms charms 
farmer charmer 
  farmers charmers 
fart chart 
  farted charted 
  farting charting 
  farts charts 
fat chat 
  fats chats 
  fatted chatted 
  fatting chatting 
fatter chatter 
fatty chatty 
  fattier chattier 
  fattiest chattiest 
faugh chaw 
faugh chore
Fawley Chorley 
fear cheer 
  feared cheered 
  fearing cheering 
  fears cheers 
fearful cheerful 
  fearfully cheerfully 
  fearfulness cheerfulness 
fearless cheerless 
  fearlessly cheerlessly 
  fearlessness cheerlessness 
fees cheese 
feign chain
  feigned chained 
  feigning chaining 
  feigns chains 
fellow cello 
  fellows cellos 
feoff chief 
  feoffs chiefs 
fern churn 
  ferns churns 
ferry cherry 
  ferries cherries 
fester Chester 
fickle chicle 
filed child 
fill chill
  fills chills
  filling chilling
  filled chilled
filly chilli
  fillies chillies 
filly chilly
filly Chile 
fine chine 
  fines chines 
Finn chin
  Finns chins
fin chin
  fins chins
five chive 
  fives chives 
fix chicks 
fizzle chisel 
  fizzled chiselled 
  fizzles chisels 
foes chose 
folk choke 
  folks chokes 
food chewed 
fop chop 
  fops chops 
for chaw
for chore 
ford chawed 
fore chaw
fore chore 
fork chalk 
  forked chalked 
  forking chalking 
  forks chalks 
four chaw
  fours chaws
four chore
  fours chores 
fox chocks 
fuck chuck 
  fucked chucked 
  fucking chucking 
  fucks chucks 
fucker chukker 
  fuckers chukkers 
fug chug 
  fugs chugs 
funk chunk 
  funks chunks 
funky chunky 
  funkier chunkier 
  funkiest chunkiest 
furl churl 
  furls churls 
gulf gulch 
hoof hooch 
huff hutch
if itch
kaffir catcher 
  kaffirs catchers 
laugh larch 
leaf leach 
  leafed leached 
  leafing leaching 
muff much 
niff niche 
Phil chill
pilfered pilchard 
reef reach 
  reefed reached 
  reefing reaching 
ref retch
reft retched
riff rich 
scoff scotch
  scoffed scotched
  scoffing scotching
serf search 
sniff snitch
  sniffed snitched
  sniffing snitching
sough such
staff starch
  staffed starched
  staffing starching
stiff stitch
surf search
  surfing searching 
  surfed searched
swift switched
tough touch 
toughie touchy 
  toughies touches 
tuft touched 
unfeigned unchained 
waft watched
whiff which 
whiff witch

John Higgins, Shaftesbury, October 2010
updated Chiang Mai, 2024