chien

[ʃjɛ̃]

/[ʃjɛ̃]/ noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“chien” is uncommon German (frequency #76,641 among 20,081 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#76,641
frequency rank, German
20,081
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Hund m; Haushund m; ein Säugetier der Familie der Hunde

Key facts for chien
PropertyValue
Headwordchien
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ʃjɛ̃]
Letters5
Frequency rank#76,641
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chien” 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). chien lands here:

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

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

Rare enough to double-check

chien is uncommon German at frequency #76,641 among 20,081 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ʃjɛ̃]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

chien doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, a sign its spelling follows regular German conventions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct German form is chien, spelled C-H-I-E-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Hund m; Haushund m; ein Säugetier der Familie der Hunde
  2. 2
    Hahn m; eine Vorrichtung an Feuerwaffen zum Auslösen des Schusses
  3. 3
    Beim Tarockspiel, Karten, die nach der Verteilung übrig sind.

Synonyms

cabotclébardclebsmolossetoutou

This word in other languages

dog(English)

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 "chien"?
"chien" is spelled C-H-I-E-N. The IPA pronunciation is [ʃjɛ̃].
What does "chien" mean?
As a noun, "chien" means: Hund m; Haushund m; ein Säugetier der Familie der Hunde
How do you pronounce "chien"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chien" is [ʃjɛ̃]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "chien" come from?
"chien" 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 “chien”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is C-H-I-E-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ʃjɛ̃] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Other uncommon German words near this rank

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