chafe
/t͡ʃeɪf/noun, verb
chafe is spelled C-H-A-F-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, chafe means “Heat excited by friction” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of chafe is chafes.
How many letters and syllables are in chafe?
| Letters | 5: C-H-A-F-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 59,387th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is chafe?
Chafe appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 59,387th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce chafe?
- US /t͡ʃeɪf/
Chafe has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-chafe.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with chafe?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as chafe from its last stressed vowel (/eɪf/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of chafe
- chafes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- chafing participle, present
- chafed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chafe mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Heat excited by friction.
- 2
Injury or wear caused by friction.
- 3
archaicVexation; irritation of mind; rage.
verb
- 1
To excite heat in by friction; to rub in order to stimulate and make warm.
- 2
To excite passion or anger in; to fret; to irritate.
- 3
To fret and wear by rubbing.
to chafe a cable
- 4
To rub; to come together so as to wear by rubbing; to wear by friction.
- 5
To be worn by rubbing.
A cable chafes.
- 6
To have a feeling of vexation; to be vexed; to fret; to be irritated.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chafe in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chauffer en frictionnant , inflammation, abrasion , énervement, colère , irriter |
| German | Reibungswärme , Schürfwunde, Verschleiß, Abnutzung , Ärger, Verdruss |
| Portuguese | assadura , esfolamento, desgaste , raiva , enraivecer , friccionar |
| Spanish | calor friccional , escocimiento, irritación, cocedura, rozadura, escocedura |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.