cishet
/ˈsɪs.hɛt/adjective, noun
cishet is spelled C-I-S-H-E-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 85,266th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, cishet means “Cisgender and heterosexual” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in cishet?
| Letters | 6: C-I-S-H-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 85,266th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is cishet?
Cishet appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 85,266th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce cishet?
- US /ˈsɪs.hɛt/
Cishet has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-NaomiAmethyst-cishet.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with cishet
Also written: cis-het (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with cishet?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as cishet (/ɪshɛt/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: ethics.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of cishet
- cis-het
- cishets plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cishet mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
informalCisgender and heterosexual.
Even in death, the way we are spoken about by the mainstream cishet world is traumatizing and violent. Even in death, trans women of color cannot escape the trauma of colonialism and genocide.
noun
- 1
informalA cisgender and heterosexual person.
Last weekend I was on Facebook taking part in a conversation about dating sites when someone called me a cishet, in a sneering tone.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cishet in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense cisgender and heterosexual:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | cishet |
| Portuguese | cis-hétero |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does cishet come from?
From cis- + het.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).