Chicago

[ʃiˈkaːɡo]

/[ʃiˈkaːɡo]/ name

The verdict

“Chicago” is a regularly-used German word, ranked #5,692 in German word frequency and used as a proper noun.

#5,692
frequency rank, German
7
letters
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - drittgrößte Stadt in den Vereinigten Staaten

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

Chicago vs Chico
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for Chicago
PropertyValue
HeadwordChicago
LanguageGerman
Part of speechProper noun
IPA[ʃiˈkaːɡo]
Letters7
Frequency rank#5,692
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Chicago” sits in German frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). Chicago lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for Chicago is 7 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ʃiˈkaːɡo]. Corpus data places it at rank #5,692 in overall German word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "drittgrößte Stadt in den Vereinigten Staaten".

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for Chicago, with forms such as "cchicago", "chciago", and "chhicago". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Chico", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct German form is Chicago, spelled C-H-I-C-A-G-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    drittgrößte Stadt in den Vereinigten Staaten

Synonyms

Chikago

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cchicago,chciago,chhicago,chiacgo,chicaggo,chicaog,chiccago,chicgao,cihcago,hcicago

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Chicago - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

cchicago1chciago2chhicago1chiacgo2chicaggo1chicaog2chiccago1chicgao2
Edit distance from "Chicago"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 German corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "Chicago"?
"Chicago" is spelled C-H-I-C-A-G-O. The IPA pronunciation is [ʃiˈkaːɡo].
What does "Chicago" mean?
As a proper noun, "Chicago" means: drittgrößte Stadt in den Vereinigten Staaten
What words are commonly confused with "Chicago"?
"Chicago" is commonly confused with "Chico". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Chicago"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Chicago" is [ʃiˈkaːɡo]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Chicago" come from?
"Chicago" is a German word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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.

Using “Chicago”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is C-H-I-C-A-G-O - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ʃiˈkaːɡo] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Chico” - see the side-by-side comparison. Chicago vs Chico
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list