Chinese character

noun

"chinese-character" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“Chinese character” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
17
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any character used in the written form of several languages of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

Key facts for Chinese character
PropertyValue
HeadwordChinese character
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
Letters17
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “Chinese character” sits in English frequency

Chinese character falls outside the top-100,000 ranked English words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

Chinese character is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for Chinese character in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

This entry's etymology isn't recorded, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct English form is Chinese character, spelled C-H-I-N-E-S-E- -C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any character used in the written form of several languages of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
  2. 2
    Any of species Cilix glaucata of moths.

Synonyms

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

How do you spell "Chinese character"?
"Chinese character" is spelled C-H-I-N-E-S-E- -C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R.
What does "Chinese character" mean?
As a noun, "Chinese character" means: Any character used in the written form of several languages of China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
What language does "Chinese character" come from?
"Chinese character" is a English word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
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 “Chinese character”

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

  • The one correct English spelling is C-H-I-N-E-S-E- -C-H-A-R-A-C-T-E-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • 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