chutzpah

/ˈxʊts.pə/

//ˈxʊts.pə// noun

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

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

The verdict

“chutzpah” is uncommon English (frequency #64,985 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#64,985
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Nearly arrogant courage; utter audacity, effrontery or impudence; supreme self-confidence; exaggerated self-opinion.

Corpus desk

Index EN-chutzpah · chutzpah · English

chutzpah · rank #64,985 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #64,985
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH Cheyne

Nearest frequency peer: Cheyne (-3 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 “chutzpah”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

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

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for chutzpah
PropertyValue
Headwordchutzpah
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈxʊts.pə/
Letters8
Frequency rank#64,985
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “chutzpah” in English

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).chutzpahfalls 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: “Cheyne” (#64,982), “cingulate” (#64,988), “cheerio” (#64,980). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “chutzpah” is #64,985. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

chutzpah is uncommon English at frequency #64,985 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈxʊts.pə/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Nearly arrogant courage; utter audacity, effrontery or impudence; supreme self-confidence; exaggerated self-opinion.".

Zero misspellings are on record for chutzpah in our index, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: Originated c. 1890–95 from Yiddish חוצפּה (khutspe), which was either borrowed via Medieval Hebrew or directly came from Aramaic חוּצְפָּא (ḥuṣpā, “audacity, boldness”), derived from חֲצַף (ḥăṣap̄, “to be impudent, arrogant”). The correct English form is chutzpah, spelled C-H-U-T-Z-P-A-H.

Definition

  1. 1
    Nearly arrogant courage; utter audacity, effrontery or impudence; supreme self-confidence; exaggerated self-opinion.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. If the service is rotten and the meal a disaster, we should withhold a tip and explain why we are doing so. Few of us have the chutzpah to do this.
  2. But seriously, the ability to just come out and put on a placard that the Jurassic era is temporally contiguous with the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt — well, there’s a word for that, and that word is chutzpah.

Etymology

Originated c. 1890–95 from Yiddish חוצפּה (khutspe), which was either borrowed via Medieval Hebrew or directly came from Aramaic חוּצְפָּא (ḥuṣpā, “audacity, boldness”), derived from חֲצַף (ḥăṣap̄, “to be impudent, arrogant”).

This word in other languages

desfachatez(Español)audace(Français)Chuzpe(Deutsch)atrevimento(Português)

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 "chutzpah"?
"chutzpah" is spelled C-H-U-T-Z-P-A-H. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈxʊts.pə/.
What does "chutzpah" mean?
As a noun, "chutzpah" means: Nearly arrogant courage; utter audacity, effrontery or impudence; supreme self-confidence; exaggerated self-opinion.
How do you pronounce "chutzpah"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "chutzpah" is /ˈxʊts.pə/. 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 "chutzpah"?
Originated c. 1890–95 from Yiddish חוצפּה (khutspe), which was either borrowed via Medieval Hebrew or directly came from Aramaic חוּצְפָּא (ḥuṣpā, “audacity, boldness”), derived from חֲצַף (ḥăṣap̄, “to be impudent, arrogant”). 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 "chutzpah", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Cisneros#64,991Chaldean#64,974casebook#64,970construe#65,007

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list