chanson

/ʃɑ̃ːˈsɔ̃ː/

//ʃɑ̃ːˈsɔ̃ː// noun

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

"chanson" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chanson” is uncommon English (frequency #67,303 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,303
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any song with French words, but more specifically a classic, lyric-driven French song.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chanson · chanson · English

chanson · rank #67,303 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,303
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH chancellery

Nearest frequency peer: chancellery (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “chanson”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “chanson” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for chanson
PropertyValue
Headwordchanson
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃɑ̃ːˈsɔ̃ː/
Letters7
Frequency rank#67,303
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “chanson” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).chansonfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “chancellery” (#67,302), “Chea” (#67,305), “cherubs” (#67,306). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chanson” is #67,303. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chanson is uncommon English at frequency #67,303 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ʃɑ̃ːˈsɔ̃ː/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for chanson in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French chanson f (“song”), from Latin cantio f. Doublet of cantion and canzone. The correct English form is chanson, spelled C-H-A-N-S-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any song with French words, but more specifically a classic, lyric-driven French song.
  2. 2
    A religious song.

Etymology

From French chanson f (“song”), from Latin cantio f. Doublet of cantion and canzone.

This word in other languages

chanson(Français)Chanson(Deutsch)

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 "chanson"?
"chanson" is spelled C-H-A-N-S-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃɑ̃ːˈsɔ̃ː/.
What does "chanson" mean?
As a noun, "chanson" means: Any song with French words, but more specifically a classic, lyric-driven French song.
How do you pronounce "chanson"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chanson" is /ʃɑ̃ːˈsɔ̃ː/. 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 "chanson"?
From French chanson f (“song”), from Latin cantio f. Doublet of cantion and canzone. 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 "chanson", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cherubs#67,306Carissa#67,295cloying#67,315Conakry#67,324

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list