child

/tʃaɪld/

//tʃaɪld// noun

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

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

The verdict

“child” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #500 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#500
frequency rank, English
5
letters
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

child vs CID
0% similar
child vs cold
60% similar
child vs chip
60% similar

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

Key facts for child
PropertyValue
Headwordchild
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tʃaɪld/
Letters5
Frequency rank#500
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “child” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). child lands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for child is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /tʃaɪld/. Corpus data places it at rank #500 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 11 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for child, with forms such as "cchild", "chhild", and "chidl". 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, "CID", "cold", "chip", 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 child, from Old English ċild, from Proto-West Germanic *kilþ, *kelþ, from Proto-Germanic *kelþaz (“womb; fetus”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵelt- (“womb”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). Cognate with Danish… The correct English form is child, spelled C-H-I-L-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).
  2. 2
    A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).
  3. 3
    One's direct descendant by birth, regardless of age; one's offspring; a son or daughter.
  4. 4
    The thirteenth Lenormand card.
  5. 5
    A figurative offspring
  6. 6
    A figurative offspring
  7. 7
    A figurative offspring
  8. 8
    Alternative form of childe (“youth of noble birth”).
  9. 9
    A subordinate node of a tree.
  10. 10
    An adult or adolescent with childish or stupid behaviors.
  11. 11
    A female child, a girl.

Etymology

From Middle English child, from Old English ċild, from Proto-West Germanic *kilþ, *kelþ, from Proto-Germanic *kelþaz (“womb; fetus”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵelt- (“womb”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). Cognate with Danish kuld (“brood, litter”), Swedish kull (“brood, litter”), Icelandic kelta, kjalta (“lap”), Gothic 𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌸𐌴𐌹 (kilþei, “womb”), Sanskrit जर्त (jarta), जर्तु (jártu, “vulva”).

Synonyms

boyand Thesaurus:girloffspring and Thesaurus:son and Thesaurus:daughterbinary cloneprogenyhybriddescendantproductsondaughterbairnbratchildchitcrumb crunchercrumb crushercrumb grindercrumb snatcherfryjuvenilekidkiddielittle oneminormini-memoppetmunchkinnipperslipsmall frysprogsprouttarttottykeyounglingyoungsteryoung'unyouthcrib lizardcrotch crittercrotch droppingcrotch fruitcrotch goblincrotch monkeycrotchlingcum cheesecum petcunt droppingfuckletfuck trophyhump dumplingpet spermsemen demonshitlingsperm blossomsperm buttercupsperm bubblesbitchlingterence

Antonyms

fathermotherparentadultparentgrownup

This word in other languages

hijo(Español)enfant(Français)Kind(Deutsch)filho(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: cchild,chhild,chidl,childd,chilld,chlid,cihld,hcild

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of child - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

cchild1chhild1chidl2childd1chilld1chlid2cihld2hcild2
Edit distance from "child"

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 "child"?
"child" is spelled C-H-I-L-D. The IPA pronunciation is /tʃaɪld/.
What does "child" mean?
As a noun, "child" means: A person who has not yet reached adulthood, whether natural (puberty), cultural (initiation), or legal (majority).
What words are commonly confused with "child"?
"child" is commonly confused with "CID", "cold", "chip". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "child"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "child" is /tʃaɪld/. 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 "child"?
From Middle English child, from Old English ċild, from Proto-West Germanic *kilþ, *kelþ, from Proto-Germanic *kelþaz (“womb; fetus”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵelt- (“womb”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to ball up, amass”). Cognate w... 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.

Using “child”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is C-H-I-L-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /tʃaɪld/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “CID” - see the side-by-side comparison. child vs CID
  • 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list