choir

/kwaɪə(ɹ)/

//kwaɪə(ɹ)// noun

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

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

The verdict

“choir” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,522. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,522
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together.

Corpus desk

Index EN-choir · choir · English

choir · rank #8,522 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,522
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH carved

Nearest frequency peer: carved (-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.

Frequency neighbourhood for “choir”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “choir” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

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).

choir vs cor
60% similar
choir vs CHR
0% similar
choir vs coin
60% similar

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

Key facts for choir
PropertyValue
Headwordchoir
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/kwaɪə(ɹ)/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,522
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “choir” 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).choirlands here:

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

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “carved” (#8,521), “clutch” (#8,523), “candle” (#8,520). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around choir (IPA /kwaɪə(ɹ)/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #8,522 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for choir, with forms such as "cchoir", "chhoir", and "chior". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "cor", "CHR", "coin", 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 quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”). Modern spelling influenced by chorus and French chœur. Doublet of quire, chorus, and hora. The correct English form is choir, spelled C-H-O-I-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together.
  2. 2
    One quarter of a cruciform church, or the architectural area of a church, generally used by the choir; often near the apse.
  3. 3
    One of the nine ranks or orders of angels.
  4. 4
    Set of strings (one per note) for a harpsichord.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The church choir practices Thursday nights.
  2. Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […], down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer.

Etymology

From Middle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”). Modern spelling influenced by chorus and French chœur. Doublet of quire, chorus, and hora.

This word in other languages

coro(Español)chœur(Français)Chor(Deutsch)coro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchoir
  • chhoir
  • chior
  • choirr
  • chori
  • cohir
  • hcoir

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

cchoir1chhoir1chior2choirr1chori2cohir2hcoir2
Edit distance from "choir"

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 "choir"?
"choir" is spelled C-H-O-I-R. The IPA pronunciation is /kwaɪə(ɹ)/.
What does "choir" mean?
As a noun, "choir" means: A group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together.
What words are commonly confused with "choir"?
"choir" is commonly confused with "cor", "CHR", "coin". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "choir"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "choir" is /kwaɪə(ɹ)/. 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 "choir"?
From Middle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”). Modern spelling influenced by chorus and French chœur. Doublet of quire, chorus, and hora. 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 "choir", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

bunny#8,519baron#8,512abbey#8,506fools#8,541

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

gossip7 variantssings7 variantskarma7 variantsPowell7 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "choir". Here's where to go from here.

  • "choir" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "cor". View pair
  • 7 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #8,522 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "C" letter cohort. C–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

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