# Chao vs chef

> English confusable word pair

## The two words

### Chao
*name · IPA /t͡ʃaʊ/ · frequency rank #26,718*
A surname from Chinese.

### chef
*noun · IPA /ʃɛf/ · frequency rank #4,835*
The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chao-vs-chef