chop-chop

intj

"chop-chop" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chop-chop” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency English
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Used to urge someone to do something quickly.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chop-chop · chop-chop · English

chop-chop · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

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.

Key facts for chop-chop
PropertyValue
Headwordchop-chop
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “chop-chop” in English

chop-chopfalls 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

chop-chop is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Used to urge someone to do something quickly.".

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for chop-chop, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Chinese Pidgin English, from Cantonese 速速 (cuk1 cuk1, “quick”). Recorded in English since the 1830s (see citations for adverb). Recorded as a Chinese term in 1795. The correct English form is chop-chop, spelled C-H-O-P---C-H-O-P.

Definition

  1. 1
    Used to urge someone to do something quickly.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. (Singapore) chop-chop kalipok

Etymology

From Chinese Pidgin English, from Cantonese 速速 (cuk1 cuk1, “quick”). Recorded in English since the 1830s (see citations for adverb). Recorded as a Chinese term in 1795.

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 "chop-chop"?
"chop-chop" is spelled C-H-O-P---C-H-O-P.
What does "chop-chop" mean?
As an interjection, "chop-chop" means: Used to urge someone to do something quickly.
What is the origin of the word "chop-chop"?
From Chinese Pidgin English, from Cantonese 速速 (cuk1 cuk1, “quick”). Recorded in English since the 1830s (see citations for adverb). Recorded as a Chinese term in 1795. 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.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list