charity

/ˈtʃæɹɪti/

//ˈtʃæɹɪti// noun

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

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

The verdict

“charity” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,283. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,283
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
10
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose.

Corpus desk

Index EN-charity · charity · English

charity · rank #3,283 · 11 variants · 10 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,283
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 10 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH castle

Nearest frequency peer: castle (-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 “charity”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “charity” 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).

charity vs chart
71% similar
charity vs chatty
71% similar
charity vs clarity
86% similar

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

Key facts for charity
PropertyValue
Headwordcharity
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtʃæɹɪti/
Letters7
Frequency rank#3,283
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs10
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “charity”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).charitylands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “castle” (#3,282), “bonus” (#3,281), “compare” (#3,285). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “charity” is #3,283. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around charity (IPA /ˈtʃæɹɪti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,283 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for charity, with forms such as "cahrity", "ccharity", and "chairty". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 10 confusable-pair relationships, "chart", "chatty", "clarity", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English charite, from Old French charité, cherte, chariteit, cariteit, from Latin cāritās. The correct English form is charity, spelled C-H-A-R-I-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose.
  2. 2
    The goods or money given to those in need.
  3. 3
    Benevolence to others less fortunate than ourselves; the providing of goods or money to those in need.
  4. 4
    In general, an attitude of kindness and understanding towards others, now especially suggesting generosity.
  5. 5
    Christian love; representing God's love of man, man's love of God, or man's love of his fellow-men.
  6. 6
    A free throw.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. ‘[…] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”.[…]’.
  2. The event raised money for local charities.

Etymology

From Middle English charite, from Old French charité, cherte, chariteit, cariteit, from Latin cāritās.

Synonyms

charitable organization

This word in other languages

caridad(Español)charité(Français)Wohltätigkeitsorganisation(Deutsch)caridade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cahrity
  • ccharity
  • chairty
  • charitty
  • charityy
  • chariyt
  • charrity
  • chartiy
  • chharity
  • chraity
  • hcarity

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of charity - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cahrity2ccharity1chairty2charitty1charityy1chariyt2charrity1chartiy2
Edit distance from "charity"

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 "charity"?
"charity" is spelled C-H-A-R-I-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtʃæɹɪti/.
What does "charity" mean?
As a noun, "charity" means: An organization, the objective of which is to carry out a charitable purpose.
What words are commonly confused with "charity"?
"charity" is commonly confused with "chart", "chatty", "clarity". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "charity"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "charity" is /ˈtʃæɹɪti/. 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 "charity"?
From Middle English charite, from Old French charité, cherte, chariteit, cariteit, from Latin cāritās. 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 "charity", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

compare#3,285cooking#3,287anxiety#3,278curious#3,289

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

superior11 variantssilence11 variantspoverty11 variantsoffensive11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list