child's play
/ˈt͡ʃaɪldz ˌpleɪ/
"child-s-play" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“child's play” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a noun - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 12
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Something particularly easy or simple.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | child's play |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈt͡ʃaɪldz ˌpleɪ/ |
| Letters | 12 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “child's play” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for child's play is 12 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈt͡ʃaɪldz ˌpleɪ/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "Something particularly easy or simple.".
No misspelling variants are generated for child's play in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.
Etymologically, the entry records: From child + -’s + play, originally referring literally to play by a child. The correct English form is child's play, spelled C-H-I-L-D-'-S- -P-L-A-Y.
Definition
- 1Something particularly easy or simple.
Etymology
From child + -’s + play, originally referring literally to play by a child.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “child's play”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-I-L-D-'-S- -P-L-A-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈt͡ʃaɪldz ˌpleɪ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- 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.