chit

/t͡ʃɪt/

//t͡ʃɪt// noun

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

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

The verdict

“chit” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #28,490. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#28,490
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A child or babe; a young, small, or insignificant person or animal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chit · chit · English

chit · rank #28,490 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #28,490
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Chomsky

Nearest frequency peer: Chomsky (+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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “chit”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “chit” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

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

chit vs CT
0% similar
chit vs ci
50% similar
chit vs cut
50% similar

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

Key facts for chit
PropertyValue
Headwordchit
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/t͡ʃɪt/
Letters4
Frequency rank#28,490
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chit”

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

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Chomsky” (#28,491), “cheery” (#28,488), “Chrissy” (#28,492). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chit” is #28,490. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around chit (IPA /t͡ʃɪt/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #28,490 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for chit, with forms such as "cchit", "chhit", and "chitt". 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, "CT", "ci", "cut", 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 chitte (“a young animal, cub, whelp”), from Old English *ċytten, *ċietten, *ċitten, from Proto-West Germanic *kittīn, from Proto-Germanic *kittīną (“young animal, fawn, kid”). Cognate with Scots chit (“chit”), Low German kitte (“young an… The correct English form is chit, spelled C-H-I-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    A child or babe; a young, small, or insignificant person or animal.
  2. 2
    A pert or sassy young person, especially a young woman.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how chit appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Madam was a little chit of a woman, not five feet in her highest headdress and shoes, and Mr. Washington a great tall man of six feet two.
  2. “These are returns,” I said, “quite fit To me, who nursed you when a chit. For shame, lay by this envious art; Is this to act a sister's part?”

Etymology

From Middle English chitte (“a young animal, cub, whelp”), from Old English *ċytten, *ċietten, *ċitten, from Proto-West Germanic *kittīn, from Proto-Germanic *kittīną (“young animal, fawn, kid”). Cognate with Scots chit (“chit”), Low German kitte (“young animal”), German Kitz (“fawn, kid”). See also kid.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchit
  • chhit
  • chitt
  • chti
  • ciht
  • hcit

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chit - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

cchit1chhit1chitt1chti2ciht2hcit2
Edit distance from "chit"

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 "chit"?
"chit" is spelled C-H-I-T. The IPA pronunciation is /t͡ʃɪt/.
What does "chit" mean?
As a noun, "chit" means: A child or babe; a young, small, or insignificant person or animal.
What words are commonly confused with "chit"?
"chit" is commonly confused with "CT", "ci", "cut". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chit"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chit" is /t͡ʃɪt/. 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 "chit"?
From Middle English chitte (“a young animal, cub, whelp”), from Old English *ċytten, *ċietten, *ċitten, from Proto-West Germanic *kittīn, from Proto-Germanic *kittīną (“young animal, fawn, kid”). Cognate with Scots chit (“chit”), Low German kitte ... 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 "chit", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Cleo#28,495cray#28,500bobo#28,469drab#28,521

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

dubs6 variantskush6 variantsSion6 variantssift6 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list