chalet

/ˈʃæleɪ/

//ˈʃæleɪ// noun

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

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

The verdict

“chalet” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #26,717. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#26,717
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An alpine style of wooden building with a sloping roof and overhanging eaves.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chalet · chalet · English

chalet · rank #26,717 · 9 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #26,717
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH CFS

Nearest frequency peer: CFS (-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 “chalet”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “chalet” 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).

chalet vs chat
67% similar
chalet vs Chet
50% similar
chalet vs chart
67% similar

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

Key facts for chalet
PropertyValue
Headwordchalet
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈʃæleɪ/
Letters6
Frequency rank#26,717
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chalet”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).chaletlands 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 “CFS” (#26,716), “Chao” (#26,718), “celebratory” (#26,715). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chalet” is #26,717. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around chalet (IPA /ˈʃæleɪ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #26,717 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for chalet, with forms such as "cahlet", "cchalet", and "chaelt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "chat", "Chet", "chart", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French chalet, from Franco-Provençal çhalè (“herdsman's hut in the mountains”). The correct English form is chalet, spelled C-H-A-L-E-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    An alpine style of wooden building with a sloping roof and overhanging eaves.
  2. 2
    A recreational lodge or small house within the grounds of a resort or country club dedicated to the uniformed services, used for events, staycations and other social gatherings.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how chalet appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Toward the end of the war, Benoit was sent off on his own with forged papers; he wound up working as a horse groom at a chalet in the Loire valley. Mandelbrot describes this harrowing youth with great sangfroid.
  2. “I know that Perdita spends the offseason at her chalet in Gstaad, and that her mansion would be empty. And the perfect place to teach you all a valuable lesson about the importance of being nice to people who maybe aren't part of your core group but who have done a lot of nice things for you and yet you still treat them like shit.”

Etymology

Borrowed from French chalet, from Franco-Provençal çhalè (“herdsman's hut in the mountains”).

This word in other languages

chalé(Español)chalet(Français)Chalet(Deutsch)chalé(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cahlet
  • cchalet
  • chaelt
  • chalett
  • challet
  • chalte
  • chhalet
  • chlaet
  • hcalet

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chalet - 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.

cahlet2cchalet1chaelt2chalett1challet1chalte2chhalet1chlaet2
Edit distance from "chalet"

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 "chalet"?
"chalet" is spelled C-H-A-L-E-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈʃæleɪ/.
What does "chalet" mean?
As a noun, "chalet" means: An alpine style of wooden building with a sloping roof and overhanging eaves.
What words are commonly confused with "chalet"?
"chalet" is commonly confused with "chat", "Chet", "chart". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chalet"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chalet" is /ˈʃæleɪ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "chalet"?
Borrowed from French chalet, from Franco-Provençal çhalè (“herdsman's hut in the mountains”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
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 "chalet", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

chimes#26,720Breton#26,703blokes#26,700corral#26,735

Similar misspelling depth

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

clipper9 variantsBorussia9 variantsblanco9 variantsbiceps9 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list