chiefly
/ˈtʃiːf.li/
"chiefly" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“chiefly” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #16,663 in English word frequency and used as an adverb.
- #16,663
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 11
- tracked misspellings
- 3
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Especially or primarily; above all.
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 | chiefly |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /ˈtʃiːf.li/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #16,663 |
| Misspellings tracked | 11 |
| Confusable pairs | 3 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chiefly” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for chiefly is 7 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈtʃiːf.li/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,663 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for chiefly, with forms such as "cchiefly", "cheifly", and "chhiefly". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "chiefs", "chilly", "chief", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chefly; equivalent to chief + -ly (adverbial suffix). The correct English form is chiefly, spelled C-H-I-E-F-L-Y.
Definition
- 1Especially or primarily; above all.
- 2Mainly or principally; almost entirely.
Etymology
From Middle English chefly; equivalent to chief + -ly (adverbial suffix).
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: cchiefly,cheifly,chhiefly,chieffly,chieflly,chieflyy,chiefyl,chielfy,chifely,cihefly,hciefly
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chiefly - 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
How do you spell "chiefly"?
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Using “chiefly”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-I-E-F-L-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈtʃiːf.li/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “chiefs” - see the side-by-side comparison. chiefly vs chiefs
- 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.