chih

noun

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

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

The verdict

“chih” is uncommon English (frequency #55,323 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#55,323
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Alternative form of chi.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chih · chih · English

chih · rank #55,323 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #55,323
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH cheeked

Nearest frequency peer: cheeked (-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.

Long-tail ranks near “chih”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “chih” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for chih
PropertyValue
Headwordchih
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters4
Frequency rank#55,323
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “chih” in English

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).chihfalls in this rarity band:

#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. Rare peers in the same band: “cheeked” (#55,322), “chinaman” (#55,324), “Cheech” (#55,321). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chih” is #55,323. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chih is uncommon English at frequency #55,323 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Alternative form of chi.".

Zero misspellings are on record for chih in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From an irregular romanization of Mandarin 尺 (chǐ). The correct English form is chih, spelled C-H-I-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Alternative form of chi.

Etymology

From an irregular romanization of Mandarin 尺 (chǐ).

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 "chih"?
"chih" is spelled C-H-I-H.
What does "chih" mean?
As a noun, "chih" means: Alternative form of chi.
What is the origin of the word "chih"?
From an irregular romanization of Mandarin 尺 (chǐ). 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 "chih", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

CPAP#55,353bier#55,279ards#55,243amas#55,230

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list