chef

/ʃɛf/

//ʃɛf// noun

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

"chef" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chef” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,835. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,835
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chef · chef · English

chef · rank #4,835 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,835
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH charter

Nearest frequency peer: charter (-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 “chef”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “chef” 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).

chef vs chi
50% similar
chef vs cue
50% similar
chef vs chu
50% similar

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

Key facts for chef
PropertyValue
Headwordchef
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ʃɛf/
Letters4
Frequency rank#4,835
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chef”

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).cheflands 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 “charter” (#4,834), “certified” (#4,833), “civilian” (#4,837). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chef” is #4,835. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around chef (IPA /ʃɛf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,835 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for chef, with forms such as "cchef", "cehf", and "cheff". 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, "chi", "cue", "chu", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Unadapted borrowing from French chef (from the positions of chef d'office and chef de cuisine), from Old French chief (“head, leader”) (English chief), from Vulgar Latin capus (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (possibl… The correct English form is chef, spelled C-H-E-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
  2. 2
    The head cook of a restaurant or other establishment.
  3. 3
    Any cook.
  4. 4
    One who manufactures illegal drugs; a cook.
  5. 5
    A reliquary in the shape of a head.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The Chef's peace of mind was restor'd, And in due time a banquet was placed on the board.
  2. The cause of the disturbance, it appeared, was the angry little chef of Sir Francis Clavering's culinary establishment.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French chef (from the positions of chef d'office and chef de cuisine), from Old French chief (“head, leader”) (English chief), from Vulgar Latin capus (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (possibly related to English cap (“head covering”)). Doublet of cape, capo, caput, and chief through Latin, and head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.

Synonyms

magiristmagirologist

This word in other languages

chef(Español)chef cuisinier(Français)Chefkoch(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchef
  • cehf
  • cheff
  • chfe
  • chhef
  • hcef

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cchef1cehf2cheff1chfe2chhef1hcef2
Edit distance from "chef"

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 "chef"?
"chef" is spelled C-H-E-F. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃɛf/.
What does "chef" mean?
As a noun, "chef" means: The presiding cook in the kitchen of a large household.
What words are commonly confused with "chef"?
"chef" is commonly confused with "chi", "cue", "chu". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chef"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chef" is /ʃɛf/. 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 "chef"?
Unadapted borrowing from French chef (from the positions of chef d'office and chef de cuisine), from Old French chief (“head, leader”) (English chief), from Vulgar Latin capus (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”... 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 "chef", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cock#4,839Emma#4,853Greg#4,859shoe#4,796

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

hosts6 variantsterry6 variantsMario6 variantspalm6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list