chess

/t͡ʃɛs/

//t͡ʃɛs// noun

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

"chess" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chess” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #7,776. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#7,776
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chess · chess · English

chess · rank #7,776 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #7,776
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cement

Nearest frequency peer: cement (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “chess”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “chess” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

chess vs CSS
0% similar
chess vs chew
60% similar
chess vs cues
60% similar

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

Key facts for chess
PropertyValue
Headwordchess
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/t͡ʃɛs/
Letters5
Frequency rank#7,776
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chess” sits in English frequency

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).chesslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “cement” (#7,775), “citing” (#7,777), “breasts” (#7,774). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around chess (IPA /t͡ʃɛs/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #7,776 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Dominant gloss: "A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for chess, with forms such as "cchess", "cehss", and "ches". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CSS", "chew", "cues", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ches, chesse, from Old French eschés, plural of eschec, from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king [in chess]”), from Classical Persian شاه (šāh, “shah, king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from Old Persian… The correct English form is chess, spelled C-H-E-S-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. At the tender age of 20, Penguingm1 is already one of the best hyperbullet and ultrabullet chess players in the world.
  2. FIDE appeals to all chess players and federations to accept this view.

Etymology

From Middle English ches, chesse, from Old French eschés, plural of eschec, from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king [in chess]”), from Classical Persian شاه (šāh, “shah, king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from Old Persian 𐏋 (XŠ /⁠xšāyaθiya⁠/). Compare German Schach and Italian scacchi. Compare French échecs (“chess”) and its descendants: Catalan escacs and Dutch schaak. More at check and shah (“king of Persia or Iran”).

Synonyms

chess

This word in other languages

ajedrez(Español)échecs(Français)Schach(Deutsch)xadrez(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchess
  • cehss
  • ches
  • chhess
  • chses
  • hcess

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cchess1cehss2ches1chhess1chses2hcess2
Edit distance from "chess"

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 "chess"?
"chess" is spelled C-H-E-S-S. The IPA pronunciation is /t͡ʃɛs/.
What does "chess" mean?
As a noun, "chess" means: A board game for two players, each beginning with sixteen chess pieces moving according to fixed rules across a chessboard with the objective to checkmate the opposing king.
What words are commonly confused with "chess"?
"chess" is commonly confused with "CSS", "chew", "cues". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chess"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chess" is /t͡ʃɛs/. 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 "chess"?
From Middle English ches, chesse, from Old French eschés, plural of eschec, from Medieval Latin scaccus, from Arabic شَاه (šāh, “king [in chess]”), from Classical Persian شاه (šāh, “shah, king”), from Middle Persian 𐭬𐭫𐭪𐭠 (mlkʾ /⁠šāh⁠/), from O... 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 "chess", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Annie#7,769float#7,793vegan#7,759grind#7,795

Similar misspelling depth

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

wang6 variantstense6 variantshobby6 variantsstat6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "chess". Here's where to go from here.

  • "chess" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "CSS". View pair
  • 6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #7,776 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list