chive
/t͡ʃaɪv/
"chive" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“chive” is an uncommon English word, ranked #73,962 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #73,962
- frequency rank, English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A perennial plant, Allium schoenoprasum, related to the onion.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | chive |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /t͡ʃaɪv/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Frequency rank | #73,962 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “chive” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for chive is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /t͡ʃaɪv/. Corpus data places it at rank #73,962 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for chive, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English chive~cyve, from Old French chive~cive, from Latin cēpa (“onion”). The correct English form is chive, spelled C-H-I-V-E.
Definition
- 1A perennial plant, Allium schoenoprasum, related to the onion.
- 2The leaves of this plant used as a herb.
- 3The spring onion; the green onion; the scallion.
Etymology
From Middle English chive~cyve, from Old French chive~cive, from Latin cēpa (“onion”).
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); 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
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Using “chive”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-H-I-V-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /t͡ʃaɪv/ (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.