Chuzpe

[ˈxʊt͡spə]

/[ˈxʊt͡spə]/ noun

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

The verdict

“Chuzpe” is uncommon German (frequency #79,021 among 20,081 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#79,021
frequency rank, German
20,081
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - dreistes Wesen oder Verhalten beziehungsweise dreiste Handlung (von unbekümmerter bis charmanter Art), ohne den nötigen Takt und Respekt und daher auf eine ungehörige und rücksichtlose Art freimüti...

Key facts for Chuzpe
PropertyValue
HeadwordChuzpe
LanguageGerman
Part of speechNoun
IPA[ˈxʊt͡spə]
Letters6
Frequency rank#79,021
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Chuzpe” 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). Chuzpe 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

Chuzpe is uncommon German at frequency #79,021 among 20,081 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed [ˈxʊt͡spə]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for Chuzpe, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is Chuzpe, spelled C-H-U-Z-P-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    dreistes Wesen oder Verhalten beziehungsweise dreiste Handlung (von unbekümmerter bis charmanter Art), ohne den nötigen Takt und Respekt und daher auf eine ungehörige und rücksichtlose Art freimütig im Wesen oder Verhalten, (auf pfiffige Art) sich mit aufreizender Respektlosigkeit über die Grenzen des Taktes und des Anstandes hinwegsetzendes (und die Gefühle anderer verletzendes) Wesen oder Verhalten beziehungsweise eine derartige Handlung, anmaßende Art oder Handlung beziehungsweise anmaßendes Wesen oder Verhalten, freche Art oder Handlung beziehungsweise freches Benehmen
  2. 2
    freche, ungezogene Art oder Handlung beziehungsweise freches, ungezogenes Wesen oder Verhalten, Benehmen
  3. 3
    „anmaßender, nicht sehr kecker Mensch“

Antonyms

BescheidenheitHöflichkeitZuvorkommenheit

This word in other languages

chutzpah(English)culot(Français)

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 "Chuzpe"?
"Chuzpe" is spelled C-H-U-Z-P-E. The IPA pronunciation is [ˈxʊt͡spə].
What does "Chuzpe" mean?
As a noun, "Chuzpe" means: dreistes Wesen oder Verhalten beziehungsweise dreiste Handlung (von unbekümmerter bis charmanter Art), ohne den nötigen Takt und Respekt und daher auf eine ungehörige und rücksichtlose Art freimüti...
How do you pronounce "Chuzpe"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Chuzpe" is [ˈxʊt͡spə]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "Chuzpe" come from?
"Chuzpe" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
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 “Chuzpe”

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

  • The one correct German spelling is C-H-U-Z-P-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˈxʊt͡spə] (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