chopstick

/ˈt͡ʃɒp.stɪk/

//ˈt͡ʃɒp.stɪk// noun

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

"chopstick" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chopstick” is uncommon English (frequency #73,062 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#73,062
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An East Asian eating utensil usually used as a pair and held in one hand to grip pieces of food or occasionally to mix liquids or scoop up small pieces of food. The utensil is a stick, usually made...

Corpus desk

Index EN-chopstick · chopstick · English

chopstick · rank #73,062 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #73,062
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH choreographic

Nearest frequency peer: choreographic (+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.

Long-tail ranks near “chopstick”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “chopstick” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for chopstick
PropertyValue
Headwordchopstick
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃɒp.stɪk/
Letters9
Frequency rank#73,062
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “chopstick” in English

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).chopstickfalls in this rarity band:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Rare peers in the same band: “choreographic” (#73,063), “chivalric” (#73,060), “Christiania” (#73,064). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chopstick” is #73,062. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chopstick is uncommon English at frequency #73,062 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈt͡ʃɒp.stɪk/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

chopstick doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. Our dataset records no confusable match here, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Apparently a compound of chop + stick, but the sense of the first element is not clear. The eating utensil sense (attested since 1637) is presumably a transfer of sense from the earlier fishing tackle sense (attested from 1615), based on physical resemblanc… The correct English form is chopstick, spelled C-H-O-P-S-T-I-C-K.

Definition

  1. 1
    An East Asian eating utensil usually used as a pair and held in one hand to grip pieces of food or occasionally to mix liquids or scoop up small pieces of food. The utensil is a stick, usually made of wood and measuring approximately 23 cm (10 inches) in length.
  2. 2
    An Asian person.
  3. 3
    A long straight stick forming part of various fishing tackle arrangements.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Then broughtt they us some henne cutt in small peeces and Fresh porcke Don in like Manner, giving us Choppsticks to eatt our Meat, butt wee knew not how to use them, soe imployed our Fingers. [...] Having before mentioned Chopstickes, I will Describe a ordinary Fellow, as boatmen, etts., how hee eateth / his meat, which is commonly on the ground or Decke.…
  2. All the Tonquineses keep many of these Sticks in their Houses, as well for their own use, as to entertain Strangers at meals: they are as ordinarily placed at the Table here, as Knives, Forks, and Spoons are in England: and a man that cannot dextrously handle these instruments, makes but an odd figure at their Tables. The richer sort of people, especially…

Etymology

Apparently a compound of chop + stick, but the sense of the first element is not clear. The eating utensil sense (attested since 1637) is presumably a transfer of sense from the earlier fishing tackle sense (attested from 1615), based on physical resemblance. The common derivation from Chinese Pidgin English chop(-chop) (“quick”), a supposed calque from Chinese 筷子 (kuàizi, “chopstick”), derived from 快 (kuài, “quick”), is chronologically impossible as Chinese Pidgin English did not come into existence until the 18th century.

This word in other languages

palillo(Español)baguette(Français)Essstäbchen(Deutsch)

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 "chopstick"?
"chopstick" is spelled C-H-O-P-S-T-I-C-K. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃɒp.stɪk/.
What does "chopstick" mean?
As a noun, "chopstick" means: An East Asian eating utensil usually used as a pair and held in one hand to grip pieces of food or occasionally to mix liquids or scoop up small pieces of food. The utensil is a stick, usually made...
How do you pronounce "chopstick"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chopstick" is /ˈt͡ʃɒp.stɪk/. 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 "chopstick"?
Apparently a compound of chop + stick, but the sense of the first element is not clear. The eating utensil sense (attested since 1637) is presumably a transfer of sense from the earlier fishing tackle sense (attested from 1615), based on physical ... 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 "chopstick", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

chivalric#73,060chickadee#73,057Castaneda#73,044colostrum#73,081

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list