Christmas

/ˈkɹɪsməs/

//ˈkɹɪsməs// name

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

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

The verdict

“Christmas” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,297. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,297
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December...

Corpus desk

Index EN-christmas · Christmas · English

Christmas · rank #1,297 · 15 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,297
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH choose

Nearest frequency peer: choose (-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 “Christmas”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “Christmas” 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).

Christmas vs Xmas
33% similar
Christmas vs Christa
78% similar
Christmas vs Christian
78% similar

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

Key facts for Christmas
PropertyValue
HeadwordChristmas
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechProper noun
IPA/ˈkɹɪsməs/
Letters9
Frequency rank#1,297
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “Christmas”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).Christmaslands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “choose” (#1,296), “color” (#1,298), “calls” (#1,295). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “Christmas” is #1,297. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around Christmas (IPA /ˈkɹɪsməs/), aproper noun. Corpus frequency is #1,297 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for Christmas, with forms such as "cchristmas", "chhristmas", and "chirstmas". 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 3 confusable-pair relationships, "Xmas", "Christa", "Christian", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: The proper noun is derived from Middle English Cristemasse, Criste-mas (“Christmas Day; season of Christmas; Christmas festivities”) [and other forms], from Old English Cristes mæsse (“Christmas”, literally “Christ’s mass”), from Crist (“Christ”) + -es (pos… The correct English form is Christmas, spelled C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December 25 (Christmas Day) in most places.
  2. 2
    Ellipsis of Christmas season (“the period of time before and after Christmas Day, during which people prepare for and celebrate Christmas”); Christmastime.
  3. 3
    A number of places in the United States:
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States:
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:
  6. 6
    A number of places in the United States:
  7. 7
    A surname.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. Do you celebrate Christmas?
  2. This Christmas we’ll open presents, then go to grandma’s for dinner.

Etymology

The proper noun is derived from Middle English Cristemasse, Criste-mas (“Christmas Day; season of Christmas; Christmas festivities”) [and other forms], from Old English Cristes mæsse (“Christmas”, literally “Christ’s mass”), from Crist (“Christ”) + -es (possessive marker) + mæsse (“a mass (celebration of the Eucharist)”). The English word is analysable as Christ + -mas (suffix denoting a holiday or sacred day). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Kristmisse (“Christmas”), West Frisian Krystmis (“Christmas”), Dutch Kerstmis (“Christmas”), German Low German Karstmis (“Christmas”). The noun, adjective, and verb are derived from the proper noun. Adjective etymology 1 sense 1 (“red and green in color”) refers to these colors being traditionally associated with Christmas.

This word in other languages

Navidad(Español)Noël(Français)Weihnachten(Deutsch)Natal(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • cchristmas
  • chhristmas
  • chirstmas
  • chrismtas
  • chrisstmas
  • christams
  • christmass
  • christmmas
  • christmsa
  • christtmas
  • chritsmas
  • chrristmas
  • chrsitmas
  • crhistmas
  • hcristmas

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Christmas - 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.

cchristmas1chhristmas1chirstmas2chrismtas2chrisstmas1christams2christmass1christmmas1
Edit distance from "Christmas"

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 "Christmas"?
"Christmas" is spelled C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkɹɪsməs/.
What does "Christmas" mean?
As a proper noun, "Christmas" means: A festival or holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ and incorporating various Christian, pre-Christian, pagan, and secular customs, which in Western Christianity is celebrated on December...
What words are commonly confused with "Christmas"?
"Christmas" is commonly confused with "Xmas", "Christa", "Christian". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "Christmas"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "Christmas" is /ˈkɹɪsməs/. 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 "Christmas"?
The proper noun is derived from Middle English Cristemasse, Criste-mas (“Christmas Day; season of Christmas; Christmas festivities”) [and other forms], from Old English Cristes mæsse (“Christmas”, literally “Christ’s mass”), from Crist (“Christ”) ... 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 "Christmas", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

increased#1,308literally#1,311necessary#1,315operation#1,279

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

opportunity15 variantsinterested15 variantsdefinitely15 variantsapplication15 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list