chafe

[tʃeɪf]

/[tʃeɪf]/ verb

The verdict

“chafe” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
5
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - warmreiben, frottieren

Corpus desk

Index DE-chafe · chafe · German

chafe · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for chafe
PropertyValue
Headwordchafe
LanguageGerman
Part of speechVerb
IPA[tʃeɪf]
Letters5
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Langschwanz-Rang von „chafe“ im Deutschen

chafesitzt jenseits der 100.000 häufigsten deutschen Formen, im Schwanz spezialisierten oder seltenen Wortschatzes.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chafe is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed [tʃeɪf]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 6 senses are on record.

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for chafe, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

This headword's origin isn't recorded in our source data, so its spelling is easiest to reason about phoneme by phoneme, absent a documented history. The correct German form is chafe, spelled C-H-A-F-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    warmreiben, frottieren
  2. 2
    reiben, durchreiben, wund reiben, scheuern
  3. 3
    ärgern, reizen
  4. 4
    sich durchreiben, sich reiben, sich wund reiben, sich scheuern
  5. 5
    verschleißen
  6. 6
    sich ärgern, toben, wüten

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "chafe"?
"chafe" is spelled C-H-A-F-E. The IPA pronunciation is [tʃeɪf].
What does "chafe" mean?
As a verb, "chafe" means: warmreiben, frottieren
How do you pronounce "chafe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chafe" is [tʃeɪf]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "chafe" come from?
"chafe" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list