Learning English is not an easy task, especially when there are a lot of words in the language that sound the same. These words are called Homonyms. The words Which and Witch are homonyms, they are pronounced the same way, but the meanings of these two words are different. The spelling of these words can be confusing to someone who is a beginner at learning English.
Which vs Witch
The main difference between Which and Witch is that while ‘which’ is used to tell two things apart, ‘witch’ is used for a woman who does magic and holds supernatural powers, a ‘witch’ either helps or harms people. While ‘which’ can be used as an adjective as well as a pronoun, ‘witch’ is a noun.
‘Which’ is a pronoun just like ‘who,’ like who is used to refer to people, which is used to refer to objects and non-living things. For example, “The pen which is on the table is the one I used to write the assignment our teacher assigned us yesterday.” It is also used to ask questions.
‘Witch’ is a word used in stories and fairytales to describe a woman who has supernatural powers. Mostly, these witches are shown as the villain of the stories and in a bad light. However, some witches are portrayed as good too. For example, in the story of Harry Potter, witches are also shown to be positive and helpful.
Comparison Table Between Which and Witch
| Parameters of comparison | Which | Witch |
| Part of speech | Adjective as well as a pronoun. | Noun |
| Usage | Used to distinguish between two things. | Used for a woman who holds supernatural powers |
| Used for | Inanimate objects | Fictional women |
| Where is it used? | Day-to-day conversations. | In stories or movies. |
| Example | ‘Which subject is hard for you, math or science?’ | ‘The story had an evil witch’ |
What is Which?
‘Which is an English word that is used to tell two things apart. It can be used as an adjective. The word ‘Which’ is supposed to come after the thing being described. For example:
- There was an opportunity, which did not last long because of your procrastination.
- Black is the color which you are supposed to wear at the theme party tomorrow.
- You told me you had a fever and you couldn’t come to work because of it, which was not at all true.
- We finally managed to find the blanket which was missing in the house.
- The ice cream which I bought was eaten by no one else.
- There are a lot of dogs in my area, which makes it hard for me to take a walk at night as they bark at me a lot.
‘Which is also used as a pronoun. It is usually in an interrogative form, a question. For example:
- Which dress would you prefer to wear on your birthday, the red one or the pink one?
- Which is the most favorite photo out of all these?
- Which school did you attend when you were in Hyderabad?
- Which flight can I get to go to Kerala at the earliest?
- Which is the most populous city in India?
What is Witch?
‘Witch’ is a term in the English language that sounds exactly like ‘which,’ so it can be confused with it and used wrongly. The letter ‘t’ is silent in Witch. It is a word used in stories and movies to talk about a character who has supernatural powers and does evil or good things to people.
Normally shown in a negative role, witches are also shown in a positive role at times, like in Harry Potter. The school mentioned in the movies/stories, Hogwarts, is a school for Wizards and Witches. There, the witches were good and helpful. However mostly, Witches are shown as the ‘villain’ of the story. For example, in the movie The Chronicles of Naria, The White Witch was a negative character that wanted to destroy people around her. Another example is Maleficent, in the story called Sleeping Beauty. She wanted to kill the protagonist of the story and was very evil.
Some examples of the word ‘witch’ used in a sentence are:
- The evil witch in Sleeping Beauty was after the blood of the main character.
- She looks like a witch to me.
- Her intentions were as evil as a witch.
- The story’s witch was very scary.
Main Differences Between Which and Witch
- The word ‘which’ is used as an adjective as well as a pronoun, while ‘witch’ is used for a lady who possesses magical powers, evil or good.
- The letter ‘t’ is silent in ‘witch’; however, no silent letters are there in which.
- Which is used for inanimate objects or in questions, whereas witch is used for a fictional character.
- Which is used in our day-to-day conversations, whereas ‘witch’ is used in movies or stories.
- Which is a very common English word whereas witch is only used in stories for particular characters and is not used as often as which.
Conclusion
Learning English is a hard task. A lot of words in the language can be confusing, but knowing and understanding the difference between confusing words can enhance one’s command over the language.
Which and witch are two words known as homonyms, the words that sound alike but have different meanings.
It is important to note that the main difference between these two words is that while ‘which’ is a word that is used to distinguish two things apart, ‘witch’ is a word used in stories to describe an evil woman with superpowers. These two worlds can be very confusing because they are pronounced the same way but using them correctly is very important to be accurate and to communicate articulately.
References
- https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/14514062.pdf
- https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/sl.27.3.06die
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=vp7JAwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT4&dq=witch+stories&ots=U6AjWF7pnI&sig=ioLfmWqy9KPNdTvnIyaZq4ViFh8