chief

/t͡ʃiːf/

//t͡ʃiːf// noun

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

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

The verdict

“chief” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #804. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#804
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chief · chief · English

chief · rank #804 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #804
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH character

Nearest frequency peer: character (-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 “chief”

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

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “chief” 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).

chief vs CIF
0% similar
chief vs chip
60% similar
chief vs chin
60% similar

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

Key facts for chief
PropertyValue
Headwordchief
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/t͡ʃiːf/
Letters5
Frequency rank#804
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “chief” sits in English frequency

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).chief lands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around chief (IPA /t͡ʃiːf/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #804 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for chief, with forms such as "cchief", "cheif", and "chhief". 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 20 confusable-pair relationships, "CIF", "chip", "chin", 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 cheef, chef, from Old French chef, chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput. Doublet of cape (“point of land”), c… The correct English form is chief, spelled C-H-I-E-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.
  2. 2
    Headship, the status of being a chief or leader.
  3. 3
    The top part of a shield or escutcheon; more specifically, an ordinary consisting of the upper part of the field cut off by a horizontal line, generally occupying the top third.
  4. 4
    The principal part or top of anything.
  5. 5
    An informal term of address.
  6. 6
    An informal term of address.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. In virtue of this privilege, in testimony of my affectionate respect for a revered chief, in conformity with what I believe to be the wish of all the Members of the scientific department, over which I have the honour to preside, and to perpetuate the memory of that illustrious master of accurate geographical research, I have determined to name this noble…
  2. My father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief by both blood and custom.

Etymology

From Middle English cheef, chef, from Old French chef, chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput. Doublet of cape (“point of land”), capo, caput, and chef through Latin (possibly also related to cape (“sleeveless garment”) and cap (“head covering”) from Latin cappa); doublet of head and Howth through Proto-Indo-European.

Synonyms

chieftain

This word in other languages

jefe(Español)chef(Français)Häuptling(Deutsch)chefe(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchief
  • cheif
  • chhief
  • chieff
  • chife
  • cihef
  • hcief

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cchief1cheif2chhief1chieff1chife2cihef2hcief2
Edit distance from "chief"

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.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "chief"?
"chief" is spelled C-H-I-E-F. The IPA pronunciation is /t͡ʃiːf/.
What does "chief" mean?
As a noun, "chief" means: The leader or head of a tribe, organisation, business unit, or other group.
What words are commonly confused with "chief"?
"chief" is commonly confused with "CIF", "chip", "chin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chief"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chief" is /t͡ʃiːf/. 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 "chief"?
From Middle English cheef, chef, from Old French chef, chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput (“head”) (from which also captain, chieftain), from Proto-Italic *kaput, from Proto-Indo-European *káput. Doublet of cape (“point of... 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 "chief", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

James#809lower#812trade#796range#793

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

cannot7 variantsblood7 variantsChina7 variantsyou've7 variants

What to do next

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

  • "chief" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "CIF". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #804 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