chemistry
/ˈkɛm.ɪ.stɹi/
"chemistry" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“chemistry” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #3,931 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #3,931
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 15
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - The branch of natural science that deals with the composition and constitution of substances and the changes that they undergo as a consequence of alterations in the constitution of their molecules.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | chemistry |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈkɛm.ɪ.stɹi/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #3,931 |
| Misspellings tracked | 15 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chemistry” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for chemistry is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈkɛm.ɪ.stɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #3,931 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for chemistry, with forms such as "cchemistry", "cehmistry", and "cheimstry". 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 1 confusable-pair relationship, "chemist", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek χῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek… The correct English form is chemistry, spelled C-H-E-M-I-S-T-R-Y.
Definition
- 1The branch of natural science that deals with the composition and constitution of substances and the changes that they undergo as a consequence of alterations in the constitution of their molecules.
- 2An application of chemical theory and method to a particular substance.
- 3The chemical properties and reactions of a particular organism, environment etc.
- 4The mutual attraction between two people; rapport.
- 5A blood test to measure the amount of various components of the serum (such as electrolytes, creatinine, and glucose).
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰew- Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek χῠ́μᾰ (khŭ́mă) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ία (-ía) Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)bor. Arabic الْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ)bor. Medieval Latin alchēmia ▲ Ancient Greek χυμείᾱ (khumeíā)influ. New Latin chimiabor. Middle French chymie French chimie Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íďďō Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō) Proto-Hellenic *-tās Ancient Greek -τής (-tḗs) Ancient Greek -ιστής (-istḗs)der. Latin -istabor. French -iste French chimistebor. English chemist English -ry English chemistry First coined 1605, from chemist + -ry. From chemist, chymist, from Latin alchimista, from Arabic اَلْكِيمِيَاء (al-kīmiyāʔ), from article اَل (al-) + Ancient Greek χυμεία (khumeía, “art of alloying metals”), from χύμα (khúma, “fluid”), from χυμός (khumós, “juice”), from χέω (khéō, “to pour”).
Synonyms
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cchemistry,cehmistry,cheimstry,chemisrty,chemisstry,chemistrry,chemistryy,chemisttry,chemistyr,chemitsry,chemmistry,chemsitry,chhemistry,chmeistry,hcemistry
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chemistry - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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
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Using “chemistry”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-E-M-I-S-T-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈkɛm.ɪ.stɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “chemist” - see the side-by-side comparison. chemistry vs chemist
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.