# ich

/ˈɪtʃ/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/ich
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. fish disease

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a common disease in pet fish that looks like small white spots on their skin.

For teachers: a parasitic infection of freshwater fish caused by the ciliate Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, commonly known as white spot disease.

- He had to treat the aquarium because one of the goldfish had ich.
- The rapid spread of ich within the closed system necessitated an immediate increase in water temperature and the application of copper-based treatments.

### 2. the ego

noun · CEFR C2 · Academic · Formal

a name for the 'ego' or the part of your mind that thinks of itself as 'I'.

For teachers: a literal transcription of Freud's German term for the ego, representing the conscious part of the psyche.

- Some scholars prefer to use the term Ich instead of ego when discussing Freud.
- The translator argued that using the original German term Ich preserved the directness of Freud's prose better than the Latinate 'ego'.

### 4. archaic form of I

pronoun · CEFR C2 · Archaic

an old way of saying 'I' that is no longer used.

For teachers: an obsolete first-person singular nominative pronoun.

- In very old English stories, you might see the word ich instead of I.
- The philologist noted the transition from the Middle English ich to the modern I in the regional manuscripts.

## Examples

- Ich am a simple man from the village.
- In some older English plays, characters from the countryside use 'ich' instead of 'I' to show their local roots.
- The playwright used 'ich' to distinguish the rural characters from the urban nobility, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the period before standardisation.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.