chains

/t͡ʃeɪnz/

//t͡ʃeɪnz// noun

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

"chains" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chains” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #5,944. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#5,944
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - plural of chain

Corpus desk

Index EN-chains · chains · English

chains · rank #5,944 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #5,944
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Catherine

Nearest frequency peer: Catherine (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “chains”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “chains” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

chains vs chan
67% similar
chains vs chin
67% similar
chains vs Chas
50% similar

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

Key facts for chains
PropertyValue
Headwordchains
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/t͡ʃeɪnz/
Letters6
Frequency rank#5,944
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chains”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).chainslands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Catherine” (#5,943), “closure” (#5,945), “cared” (#5,942). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chains” is #5,944. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around chains (IPA /t͡ʃeɪnz/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #5,944 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "plural of chain".

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for chains, with forms such as "cahins", "cchains", and "chainns". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "chan", "chin", "Chas", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Wiktionary doesn't record an etymology for this headword, so its spelling pattern is best understood through pronunciation rather than a traceable origin. The correct English form is chains, spelled C-H-A-I-N-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    plural of chain

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cahins
  • cchains
  • chainns
  • chainss
  • chaisn
  • chanis
  • chhains
  • chians
  • hcains

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chains - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cahins2cchains1chainns1chainss1chaisn2chanis2chhains1chians2
Edit distance from "chains"

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 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "chains"?
"chains" is spelled C-H-A-I-N-S. The IPA pronunciation is /t͡ʃeɪnz/.
What does "chains" mean?
As a noun, "chains" means: plural of chain
What words are commonly confused with "chains"?
"chains" is commonly confused with "chan", "chin", "Chas". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chains"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chains" is /t͡ʃeɪnz/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "chains" come from?
"chains" is a English 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.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "chains", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cooked#5,950Ashley#5,935dental#5,955freeze#5,965

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

happily9 variantshumble9 variantslocally9 variantsmixing9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list