chowder

/ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/

//ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ// noun

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

"chowder" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“chowder” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #37,854. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#37,854
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
7
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A thick, creamy soup or stew.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chowder · chowder · English

chowder · rank #37,854 · 11 variants · 7 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #37,854
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 7 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH clary

Nearest frequency peer: clary (+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 “chowder”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “chowder” 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).

chowder vs coder
71% similar
chowder vs cower
71% similar
chowder vs Cowper
57% similar

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

Key facts for chowder
PropertyValue
Headwordchowder
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#37,854
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs7
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “chowder”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).chowderlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “clary” (#37,855), “clinching” (#37,856), “chews” (#37,850). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chowder” is #37,854. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around chowder (IPA /ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #37,854 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for chowder, with forms such as "cchowder", "chhowder", and "chodwer". 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 7 confusable-pair relationships, "coder", "cower", "Cowper", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Probably borrowed from French chaudière, from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), derived from Latin caldus (“hot”). Related to English cauldron. Possibly from older English jowter (“fish monger”). The correct English form is chowder, spelled C-H-O-W-D-E-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A thick, creamy soup or stew.
  2. 2
    A stew, particularly fish or seafood, not necessarily thickened.
  3. 3
    Alternative spelling of jowter.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

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

  1. fish chowder

Etymology

Probably borrowed from French chaudière, from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), derived from Latin caldus (“hot”). Related to English cauldron. Possibly from older English jowter (“fish monger”).

This word in other languages

chaudrée(Français)Fischsuppe(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchowder
  • chhowder
  • chodwer
  • chowdder
  • chowderr
  • chowdre
  • chowedr
  • chowwder
  • chwoder
  • cohwder
  • hcowder

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of chowder - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

cchowder1chhowder1chodwer2chowdder1chowderr1chowdre2chowedr2chowwder1
Edit distance from "chowder"

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 "chowder"?
"chowder" is spelled C-H-O-W-D-E-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/.
What does "chowder" mean?
As a noun, "chowder" means: A thick, creamy soup or stew.
What words are commonly confused with "chowder"?
"chowder" is commonly confused with "coder", "cower", "Cowper". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "chowder"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chowder" is /ˈt͡ʃaʊdɚ/. 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 "chowder"?
Probably borrowed from French chaudière, from Late Latin caldāria (“cooking-pot”), derived from Latin caldus (“hot”). Related to English cauldron. Possibly from older English jowter (“fish monger”). 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 "chowder", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Charing#37,848Cassini#37,844crackle#37,868bracken#37,835

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

colonize11 variantsbookcase11 variantsdelving11 variantsbarracuda11 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list